


What Are the Odds?

by Erif_Of_Taloma



Category: One Piece
Genre: Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Excessive Violence, Explicit Language, Explosions, Fire, Im pretty sure yall are gonna hate me, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), One Piece Big Bang 2016, Original Character Death(s), Slash, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Swearing, War Is Not Pretty, War and assoiciated dangers, also known as The Sandwich, back stabbing, broken necks, hopefully accurate fight sequences, mentions of non consentual drug use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-06-04 09:11:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 93,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6651760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erif_Of_Taloma/pseuds/Erif_Of_Taloma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For denizens of the Territories, life is generally pretty good. Provided of course that one is able and willing to conform to the rules imposed by whomever is in the charge of the area. However when the World Collective, a group of allied territories, declares that they are resuming hunts for people who seem to have the Devils own abilities, life becomes very complicated very quickly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Extra! Extra! Hear all about it!

**Author's Note:**

> All characters belong to their respective owners. I simply play with them for my, and your amusement.
> 
> So. Here we are. The Sandwich, as Ive taken to calling it. My second multichaptered fic and holy hell is this one a doozy. This was written for the One Piece Big Bang though when I started writing it I had no intention of entering the thing at all. What started as a 4 page plot bunny that I needed to get rid of before I went on vacation somehow consumed my vacation and turned into 28 pages. And then it kept growing. And growing. And growing. So I needed a deadline and the sign ups opened and I figured, eh why not? I didnt make it, not entirely as a good majority of it is still unedited. Hence the appearance of only the first chapter for now and the tentative update schedule of once a week or every two weeks here and on ff.net. If you have a burning desire to read it all then you can find it on tumblr, but it is seriously a read at your own risk. Also I feel the need to place another disclaimer on this. This is the first fic Ive ever written with the intent of it being a shipfic so I may have screwed up some of the characterization in that regard. Anyways I hope you enjoy this.
> 
> Many thanks to the wonderful Ktwontwo for betaing this and Silmil who helped me with keeping characters in character when I first started writing this. 
> 
> Also, there is art! For that is the purpose of the Big Bang! My partner is Idaida on tumblr and the magnificent piece of art that they made for this can be found here!

"Well what do you want me to say?" Marco snapped. The conversation wasn't going anywhere. His brother had barely let him get a word in edgewise for the duration of the call. Normally, Marco wouldn't have minded as it would have allowed him to catch up on all the news he had missed but he had somewhere he wanted to visit before returning home and he loathed the idea of either skipping the stop or dragging his work with him.

"I don't know," Izo said sounding as frustrated as Marco felt. "Maybe that you have good news this time; that we actually managed to learn something; that this entire endeavor wasn't a waste of time?"

"Well," Marco drawled, his mood starting to abate. "I don't think it was a complete waste of time."

"Oh really?"

"It did allow me to get out of the office for a while"

He could practically hear the eye roll that accompanied the next comment. "I'm so happy for you." Sarcasm vanishing, Izo's voice became serious, "Did you manage to find out anything other than just more rumors?"

And we finally get to the point Marco thought. Just maybe he would be able to finish up his initial report and manage to have some time to himself. "About the vandals?"

"No, about the price of peas in Persopolis. Yes, about the vandals."

"Well the rest of the territories have finally realized that it's not one group but at least two. It might even be three."

"That's not new. We knew that there were two groups months ago. But what's this about a possible third?"

"Currently its all speculation. No one has been able to positively confirm the third group exists but if it does it's got to be quite a bit more secretive than the other two. Whatever the number, all two or three of these groups seem to have their main objective as running around causing massive headaches and troubles for the Powers that Be in the World Collective. I also found out that the two groups they know for sure exist have been given official names. The one that tends to set things on fire has been officially dubbed Fire Fist and the other one that causes massive property damage has been nicknamed Straw-hat. "

"Straw-hat?"

"The leader of that particular group allegedly wears one."

"And we're supposed to take a group called Straw-hat seriously?" Izo asked in disbelief.

Marco chuckled. He had wondered the exact same thing the first time he had come across the name. "Well you can't deny the damage attributed to them is extensive. You have to respect anything that can cause that much mayhem in such a short amount of time. Truthfully, I'm more worried about the Fire Fist. Those attacks have been creeping steadily closer to our territories. According to some sources the original fires shouldn't have been able to do that much damage not without some sort of assistance. However, no one has ever managed to find any sort of accelerant or incendiary devices in the remains."

There was a silence, "No accelerant? No assisting mechanics? The number of bodies and lack of witnesses means…." There was a snapping noise as Izo figured it out, "You think it's a Devil. Pardon, that whomever is causing the fires has one of the Devil's Abilities."

"I do," Marco said shortly.

"And he, she, they, whomever appear to be heading towards our territories. Odds are they will be seeking asylum. Great. Wonderful. Anything else?"

"The situations in the World Collective's Nefertari Territory and the independent Skypeia Territory appear to be worsening. Looks like the first is heading towards a Civil war and the latter's religious war appears to be picking up again. I couldn't find out much more than that although I ran across a troop of Brass heading in the direction of Nefertari. Needless to say they weren't terribly forthcoming with information about where they were headed and what exactly they were going to be doing when they got there."

There was a silence, as if Izo couldn't or didn't want to comprehend what he had just heard. Marco didn't blame him. They and the rest of the Border areas would be rather busy for a while if both of those situations developed as they were threatening to.

Marco ran the conversation over again in his mind. Something Izo had said was bothering him. "Izo," he asked, "Why would you expect a User to suddenly be seeking asylum from us? Is there anything going on that I need to know?"

"It's nothing," Izo replied absentmindedly as if he were paying attention to something else. A muffled booming voice in the background let Marco know immediately what it was. It was extremely hard to have multiple conversations when their father was talking.

"How close are you?" Izo asked suddenly. "We know you're in the last couple clicks of the border because you're in transmission range, but where exactly are you?"

Marco raised an eyebrow even though he knew his brother couldn't see his expression. That was rather strange though not for the reasons one would expect. Normally no one bothered to ask how close he was to their territory as distance was rather relative to him. The fact that Izo was actually bothering to ask about distance and the faint concern that Marco could hear in his tone had Marco on high alert and he answered cautiously, "Near Outskirts."

"Good. How soon can you get back?"

The sudden return to what he would normally be asked about did nothing to assuage his worries and Marco glanced at the sun to check the time. It was about mid-afternoon now. "If I hurried, I could make it back in an hour, but I was planning on being back before dusk. I missed lunch avoiding the Brass and was going to grab a sandwich or something. Izo, what's going on? Do I need to get back sooner?"

"I don't think so," Izo said, and Marco heard another muffled comment from the background.

"Nah, you're close enough to the territory according to Pops. Just be careful. We just got news that the World Coalition declared the Hunts back on. Strange coincidence though. From what you said they must have issued the proclamation almost immediately after you left."

Marco frowned. "They did what? Did they give an official reason or the same protection of the social order crap again?"

"Nothing new. Its just the same old, same old. It looks like they are really on the warpath this time though. Be careful you understand?" Izo cautioned.

He chuckled darkly, "I've been surviving Hunts longer than you've been alive."

"Well excuse me for worrying," Izo snapped though the undertone of concern persisted even in a statement that was normally said in jest. "Go get your lunch," His brother continued. Then in a rather teasing tone he asked, "You said something about getting a sandwich?"

"Yes," Marco said warily, putting what he had just learned out of his mind for the moment. Things never boded well for him when Izo had that tone of voice.

"So can I presume that you're going to that Sandwich shop? The one in Outskirts? Where your friend works?"

Marco shrugged before remembering that the other couldn't see him then said calmly, "Ace's shop is close and I know I can get a sandwich right now, unlike most anywhere else that will be closed between lunch and dinner."

"I see..." The resultant silence seemed to indicate the end of the conversation despite the dangling nature of the comment. Marco was about to hang up when Izo spoke again, "When do we get to meet him?"

"What?"

"Ace, or whoever it is that you keep going to that shop to see."

"Izo, I have no idea what you are talking about," Marco protested while lying through his teeth. He knew exactly what his brother was attempting to do but there was no way he was going to inform Izo that this time he might just be right. For years his siblings had amused themselves by speculating and betting on his potential romantic entanglements. He wasn't ready to admit it to his family that he actually might be interested in someone. Not only would the teasing be unbearable but there would be gloating as well. Besides he knew who held what time periods in the Marco gets a special friend bet, and he owed Thatch a good turn after a disastrous dispute some six months ago.

"Sure you don't," Izo agreed. "Anyways, enjoy your lunch. If you're not back before dusk, I'm sending Haruta out after you." There was no goodbye, only a soft whine signaled the end of the conversation as the transmission dropped. Marco hummed softly while slipping the transfract into his drawstring bag then he ambled down the side road toward the small border town called Outskirts.

The sun glared harshly, baking the red soil beneath his feet. It was hot. Marco shaded his eyes with his hand attempting to judge exactly how much farther before he reached the welcome shade of the trees that marked the official entrance to Outskirts.

The Border was a rather interesting place. Officially it served as a buffer between specific territories and The Waste. The truth was that The Border was marginal land between the temperate areas that formed the core of each territory and the area completely unfit for human habitation. These were areas that no-one really wanted because it would take too much time, effort and funds to make it not only livable but decently productive. As such it functioned as an unofficial no-man's-land where settlements and encampments sprang up overnight and disappeared just as fast. The harsh environment drove most people towards the comparative comfort of the territories, even though it meant living under the rules of whoever controlled that territory. But there were always those who would not, could not, or simply did not want to live under the rules posed by the territory rulers, which was why the Border population continued to survive.

There were a few quasi-permanent towns in the Boarder. They were on the whole populated by a rather eclectic conglomeration of individuals living together with the minimum amount of rules necessary to function as a community. Outskirts was one of the oldest and largest of these settlements, with a cluster of multistoried buildings along its main road while another dozen or two peppered the surrounding landscape on the side facing the Waste. It's only real claim to fame was due to its proximity to Agvitatmaa. Agvitatmaa, as the largest unaffiliated territory outside of the World Collective run by Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate, tended to attract people both into itself as well as to the surrounding area. It also happened to be the place Marco called home.

Outskirts specifically was just shy of halfway between the road leading down from the First Gate and the main route that linked Little Hazards Garden, the Eastern Territories and the World Collective. In the past, it had been used as a staging area for Whitebeard and enemy forces alike for numerous reasons. It was also, due to its location, a prime spot for trading in information, goods and services. Of course some of those items were frowned upon and others were illegal within one or another of the territories. All in all Outskirts was not a place where you'd expect to find an excellent sandwich shop even if said shop did double as a bar after the sun went down. However, there it sat a testament to the perseverance of the man that owned and ran the place. It was a curiosity. But just like the town in which it was located Marco had found it was a wonderful place to both give and receive information.

Now that he thought about it, what was really strange was not the business itself but the fact that it had been unmolested by the gangs, the outsiders, and even the criminal elements that made the Border their home. Not that there had been any outsiders using Outskirts as a scouting base for a while which could mean any number of things. It could easily be a spy who had not yet been found and was quietly eliminating any competition; or the calm before a storm; or it could mean that the people who lived in Outskirts had decided to police their own to avoid having to deal with any of Whitebeards forces again. After all, a lot of criminals ended up living in Outskirts and a raid would disrupt a good deal of underground activity. Whatever the reason it meant that businesses like The S'andwich Bar could survive and thrive.

Not that The S'andwich Bar and its proprietor Ace were clean. Most everyone who lived in Outskirts had some ties to the underworld even if they themselves were not directly involved in illicit activity. How exactly Ace was connected to the underworld was a mystery that Marco was uneager to solve if only to preserve his own anonymity. When he had begun frequenting the shop approximately 9 cycles ago, Ace had acted as if he didn't even know who Marco was. It had been slightly suspicious, as anyone with a transfract could have discovered the information but after a couple of weeks, Marco realized that Ace didn't even own one. As far as Marco could tell the highest level of technology the bar had was its solar generated electricity and an old water filtration system, both of which were the bare necessities for life in the borderlands. Ace could be a technophobe with no interest in the political situation of the neighboring territory, a clever criminal hiding in plain sight or something else entirely.

Now that he thought about it, Marco realized it might just be something else entirely. Another rather bizarre feature of Outskirts was that certain types of technology seemed not to work very well in the area. It wasn't limited to border made technology, which was hit or miss to begin with either. Marco had noted early on in his visits that despite being within transmission range, his own transfract had only worked one out of five times that he had tried to use it near the bar. If such a low possibility of a successful connection was the norm then owning one probably wasn't worth it. Despite all the questions Marco's gut feeling counted the shop's proprietor as a friendly force rather than a potential enemy and Marco had been around long enough that he trusted his feelings.

Weaving through the hodgepodge streets between smooth red buildings towards three story one on the edge of town that housed The S'andwich Bar, Marco decided that he would most definitely be passing on the news about the Hunts starting up again. There were Users living and hiding in Outskirts. The spiral-like patterns painted on, crudely carved or otherwise incorporated into the architecture made it rather obvious. If one understood the meaning behind it the spiral was a rather obvious sign that Users were tolerated and maybe even welcomed by the residents. Normally he didn't care if there were Users in an area; it would have been rather hypocritical if he had considering his own special ability. As long as any Users around stayed out of his way and he out of theirs everything was better for all involved. Live and let well enough alone was Marco's philosophy on the matter.

Marco knew that his attitude was common among the User community. Being an unregistered User wasn't illegal anywhere except inside the World Collective, however, people tended to frown upon blatant displays of non-standard abilities especially if such abilities caused damage or attracted adverse attention 'An it harm none do as you will' along with 'don't be blatantly obvious with your power' were precepts followed religiously by most, if not all, users in the Border. All in all it made for less conflict, minimized property destruction as well as ensured happier neighbors. Unfortunately with the World Coalition declaring the Hunts open again that simple creed would no longer suffice. No the situation would soon change and not for the better.

The Coalition and by default The Brass, didn't care where the so called Devils lived. Their only concern was if they didn't work for the Coalition in some form or fashion then they were considered renegades. A known renegade Devil had few options: move and hope to keep their powers hidden, seek refuge in one of the territories with the ability to protect its own Users, join the Users sworn to the Coalition, or be killed. The Hunts were simply an excuse for the Coalition to send The Brass out to round up Users and "offer employment." While declining such an offer could result in imprisonment with a life sentence public executions were a much more common result. Such executions were spectacles billed as a service to the community and an elimination of vermin regardless of how the community in question happened to feel about the User who happened to have been caught and executed. The Hunts turned people against each other as the rewards for the location of a User were substantial. They also had a nasty habit of disrupting trade, increasing paranoia and hostility while causing substantial property damage as the Brass attempted to ferret out the closet Devils. No, it was not a good thing for anyone, let alone a border town like Outpost, when the Brass came hunting.

Marco would make sure to pass the information onto Ace who in turn would ensure that it got passed on to the appropriate people. Anyone who might be a target could conveniently be elsewhere for a day or two if they so wished. For a moment, Marco contemplated not warning anyone if only to see the reactions when The Brass arrived. He was sure that whatever happened it would be hilarious to watch. The only people Marco had ever come across that hated The Brass more than the citizens of Agvitatmaa were the denizens of Outskirts. The Brass would have a tough time prying any users out of this town. In fact, they might even have trouble getting themselves out of town if they angered the locals too much. Marco considered the potential ramifications if the Coalition lost a platoon of Brass as close to Agvitatmaa as Outskirts. No, he decided, it just wasn't worth the risk.

About to push open the heavy wooden door and enter The S'andwich Bar he looked up at the bar's sign. For the first time Marco noticed that sitting on the S of sandwich was a painted Straw-hat and the S itself was slightly separate from the rest of the word by a heart, no not a heart, an upside-down spade packed tightly with the Devils spiral. Well, Marco mused wasn't that interesting. Did the spirals in the upside-down spade mean someone who lived in the building was a User, or was it simply a sign of safe haven? Was the straw-hat a cute coincidence or a connection to the Straw-Hat Vandals? Hmmmm… Either way, it was something to ponder at a future date. Marco decided to keep his eyes and ears open while he traded information.

Opening the door, Marco quickly slipped inside to prevent the slightly cooler air of the room from escaping. Fans spun lazily overhead keeping the air moving and the lights themselves were dimmed aiding in keeping the room cool. Blinking to let his eyes adjust to the dim light, he glanced about the room. As expected this late in the day hardly anyone was around. The few people that were present Marco recognized as other denizens of Outskirts and friends with Ace's younger brother to boot. No one reacted to his appearance in the entranceway. He'd always found it interesting that none of the shops regulars had ever acknowledged him as one of Whitebeard's top men. He was relatively sure that at least a few of them knew very well who he was and what position he held. Marco wasn't sure if they were taking their cue from Ace's behavior, were just being polite or truly didn't care. Whatever the reason he reveled in the anonymity; it was one of the things that had attracted him to the business in the first place.

Moving towards the counter a small smile slipped onto Marco's face as he realized Ace was working today and hadn't managed to notice him yet. If anything, it looked like Ace was leaning on the counter fast asleep. David, a tall lanky curly haired man and one of Ace's friends and coworkers appeared to be about to poke him awake but instead turned to smile at Marco as he approached the counter.

"Marco."

"David," Marco replied placing one elbow on the counter. "How's business?"

"We're doing all right."

"That's good," Marco said as the both of them studied their sleeping friend. "He have a narcolepsy fit?"

"Yeah. Looks like its going to be a short one though. He's already stirring. You mind waiting a few? He'll pout if he doesn't get to take care of your order."

"I'm not in a terribly big rush."

David nodded in acceptance and moved down towards the other end of the counter to work on something or another. Marco took a moment to assess his still sleeping friend. Ace's shoulder black hair created curtains around his face hiding it from view while his favorite orange hat rested on his back. His shirtsleeves had ridden up ever so slightly exposing the bottom edge of a very elaborate tattoo on his left bicep.

It was probably a good thing that David King was working today Marco mused absently as he studied what little he could see of the ink in an attempt to figure out what Ace's tattoo was. Had Ace's other employee been working there was no doubt in his mind that Marie would have attempted to play connect the dots with the numerous freckles on Ace's face while he was asleep. It was just as that thought crossed his mind that Ace happened to wake up. Marco was treated to the rare sight of his normally cool and confident friend suddenly become rather flustered. Apparently Ace hadn't expected to wake with someone that close to him because with a undignified squawk Ace shot backwards stumbling over his own feet, arms flailing before eventually landing on the floor with a grimace and a loud bang.

Snickers erupted from the room behind him and Marco didn't have to look to know the other patrons were laughing at Ace. He himself was tempted to let loose a chuckle but instead traded it for raising an eyebrow while Ace recovered his bearings.

"Oh shut up!" Ace called to the still snickering patrons as he picked himself up off of the floor. "You too, King!"

"Sure thing, Captain but just so you know you've got a customer."

Marco's smirk grew wider as Ace froze. Apparently he hadn't realized that the person standing so close had been there for a reason other than a prank.

"Sorry about that," Ace said finally turning around. "What can I…" He stopped mid-sentence as he finally realized who he was talking to. "Marco!" Ace said smiling, a larger smile then any Marco had ever seen him make before.

"Hey." Marco replied simply.

"Hey, yourself!" Ace returned cheerfully. "Been a while. Couple of weeks, yeah? How are things going? Want your usual I suppose?"

"Please," Marco said with a nod. "And things are fine."

"Botched Construct, right?" Ace dusted his hands off on his pants before turning to the sink to wash them. "Trade deals keeping you busy then?"

"That's right. You know you have the weirdest names for your sandwiches," Marco stated taking the time to appreciate the view while Ace was turned around. "And I am busier than you would probably believe."

"I like my sandwich names," came the mild protest as Ace turned back to the counter. "That busy hunh? So does that mean anything interesting has happened or does it mean you've been to busy to be involved with whatever interesting stuff is happening lately?" Ace asked not looking up at Marco while making the sandwich.

"Hmm. I wonder." Marco teased.

"You wonder?" Ace asked looking up and raising an eyebrow as he handed the plate with Marco's sandwich off to David so he could ring it up before grabbing another plate and starting to create a new sandwich.

"That's what I said"

"Does that mean you're not going to tell me?"

Marco's smirk grew. "Maybe."

"Maybe hmm?" A wicked gleam appeared in Ace's eye as he leaned closer towards Marco. "And what would I have to do to do in order to make you tell me?"

Marco didn't get a chance to answer as a mildly annoyed call of "Oi!" drew both of their attention down the line where David was standing by the register. "Will the two of you stop flirting so Marco can pay for his damned sandwich already?"

Ace rolled his eyes but leaned back now intent upon the sandwich he was creating. Marco shook his head slightly, trying to clear it from the head pounding rush that he was feeling. Flirting? Well he had been flirting but at the same time he had hoped that it hadn't been that obvious.

Pulling out his wallet Marco handed his money over to David, "Here."

"Its nice to see you back," David said, handing him the change. "The boss spent the past couple of weeks moping when he remembered that you wouldn't be coming in for a while."

"Really?"

"No I didn't" Ace protested suddenly from behind David holding a couple of plates of his own, each with a rather large sandwich upon it.

David simply rolled his eyes, and handed Marco his sandwich while Marco turned his gaze on his friend. Ace refused to meet his eyes and busied himself with getting around the counter carrying everything without having to make two trips, but Marco could swear that he saw the hint of a blush appear in his friend's cheeks. Well. That was new and if it meant what he thought it did then perhaps Marco had more of a chance than he realized. While he had been thinking Ace had managed to successfully get around the counter and had headed towards a table. It took him a second to realize that Marco was not following.

"Marco," Ace said rather petulantly. "Are you coming? You've got to tell me what interesting things you've encountered since you were here last!"

"I do?" Marco asked as he followed his friend to the table.

"Yes, you do" Ace retorted, sliding out a chair and sitting down. Taking a large bite out of his first sandwich he used his foot to shove out a chair opposite of him.

"You first" Marco said taking the offered seat with a small smile before tucking into his own sandwich. Almost immediately Ace launched into a rather dramatic retelling of a number of amusing things he saw as the primary bartender and provider of lunch in this area of the Border.

It didn't take long for Marco to finish his own sandwich and for Ace to run out of stories. Despite their friendship Marco was still an outsider and he knew there were things that occurred out here that he just wasn't supposed to know. Ace clearly wasn't telling him everything. He too had to be careful in what he told Ace and make sure that it matched what a true merchant's scout might know. Despite the caution he needed to employ Marco enjoyed having a place that knew him only as Marco not as Commander Marco, Sir, or Boss and didn't expect anything more from him than the latest news.

"So, I was just in the Cocoyashi Territory," He began leaning back in his chair.

"Where's that?" Ace asked through a mouthful of sandwich

"East of here. It was originally a part of the Arlong Empire."

"What happened to it?"

"It was destroyed. The Straw-hat Vandals…"

Ace blinked, "Who?"

Marco raised an eyebrow watching his friend very carefully "The Straw-hat Vandals?" He studied Ace's face looking for any sign that the straw-hat on the shop's logo was more than just a coincidence. "They are that unaffiliated group who have been running around the various Territories and Borders. Their only aim appears to be to cause massive property damage for no apparent reason and thus making my life harder."

Ace blinked again then burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Marco asked. That had not been the reaction that he had been expecting.

Ace tried to say something but couldn't, he was laughing too hard. Marco waited and eventually Ace managed to catch his breath.

"Sorry, Sorry" he gasped wiping his eyes. "I've heard of them, but I hadn't realized they had a name. So that's what they are calling them officially? I get that they are making your life harder and you're right it's not funny but…" whatever the thought was, Ace was having trouble expressing it. "Its just…" he finally managed. "Straw-hat! That's like saying be afraid of Moss!" Ace giggled again then adopted what was actually a semi decent imitation of the kind of voice one would hear over an official transfract broadcast. "Moss struck again in the neighboring territory last night. All citizens are requested to keep an eye out for anything suspiciously green and fuzzy!" Mock broadcast complete Ace once again dissolved into laughter.

Marco stared at his friend for a moment before releasing a chuckle of his own to join the noise that Ace was already making. Well that answered that question. Ace clearly wasn't a technophobe he was just living in a dead zone where transfact broadcasts were hit or miss. It also seemed he had worried over nothing. Judging by this reaction, the straw-hat on Ace's sign was simply a decoration not a declaration of loyalty or belonging.

"So," Ace finally said once he had himself under control "What did the Straw-hat Vandals do?"

Marco used his serious tone, "They overthrew Arlong." That garnered an appropriate reaction Marco thought as Ace gaped at him.

"They overthrew Arlong" Ace repeated sounding incredulous. "The Arlong who ruled the majority of the Eastern Territories; that Arlong? The guy who and couldn't care less about what went on there lest it happened to interfere with his plans for creating a ruling coalition of Fishmen to dominate the whole world? Why did they take him out? Who are these people? Are they Users, other Fishmen, proxies for the World Collective or what?"

"The rumors that I've heard say all the members of the Straw-hat gang are human. Unfortunately the residents of Cocoyashi were so determined to claim responsibility for Arlong's defeat themselves they wouldn't confirm or deny the rumors. I couldn't push it. I was only there because the company wanted me to see if the newly independent Cocoyashi would consider allowing us to set up a company outpost and its not a good idea to piss off your potential customers 'eh?"

Ace wrinkled his nose, but waved his hands in a go on gesture so Marco did. "Anyways, that's only the first thing. Something has stirred up a hornet's nest in the World Collective. According to other merchants the Nefertari Territory is headed towards an all out civil war and the amount of Brass headed in that direction isn't helping the rumors."

"Civil War?" Ace asked, "Really? They've been making noises about that for months but nothing was actually happening. I didn't think anyone was actually going to do anything except grumble."

"Apparently they've reached the boiling point. But that's not all. You know Nefertari's neighbor?

"Jaya right?"

"That's one of them. I was actually referring to Skypeia."

"That place actually exists?"

"Yes, it does. It's located deep in the Abyss but if you know how to get through the mist it's rather easy to find. It's a nice place, mostly."

"Mostly? What's wrong with it?"

"It can be rather isolationist, bigoted and is ruled by a fanatical cult leader. Have you heard of the Shandia?"

"Those are the nomads who live on the edges of the Abyss right?"

"Yeah. They claim that they are the native peoples of Skypeia and that the Skypieans are invaders who pushed them out of their sacred lands. The whole thing happened years ago and the regions been locked in a religious war ever since. Every other generation or so the war will stop for a bit but with no official peace it always escalates again."

"And it's starting to escalate?"

"Exactly. I have to let the company know so that they can figure out if they want to continue expanding into the Jaya area " Marco said still keeping a close eye on Ace's expressions. "There might be refugees headed this way as well; seeing as the Whitebeard territory is seen as one of the nearest safe havens. No clue if they'll come this far but if they do the company will probably be drafted into helping deal with them."

"Wow." Ace said lounging in his chair. "Nothing happens by the halves in the Coalition held areas huh."

Marco snorted in agreement. "You said it, 'eh." Marco was thinking furiously. He had to pass on the news about the Hunts but there wasn't really a good way to ease into that topic. If he broached it wrong it could get him tossed out on his ear as either a Collective sympathizer or an agitator for User rights depending upon where Ace stood on the matter.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ace asked teasingly as opposed to sounding insulted.

Marco didn't answer immediately, he was thinking too hard. How was he going to do this? He really needed to pass on this information about the Hunts without revealing his actual position or that he himself was a User.

"Marco?" Ace asked and it was the lack of a teasing tone that had Marco looking up at his friend.

"Hm?"

"Something wrong?"

"Not particularly. Its just…" Marco huffed and ran a hand through his hair; this was going to be tricky. Scooting closer to the table he motioned for Ace to do the same. Ace complied though Marco could see the curiosity in his eyes. Before Ace could ask anything though, Marco dropped his voice to a low whisper "Ace, what do the swirls in the spade on your logo mean?"

Ace froze. "I don't know what you mean," he said all warmth gone from his voice.

Marco winced internally. Oh that went over well, he thought. This was important however and he would never forgive himself for leaving his friend unaware of the potential danger if there was the slightest chance that he was a User or was sheltering Users. Marco reached across the table to rest his hand on Ace's arm and prevent him from leaving. "No, Ace… shit. I'm not doing this right."

"Well," Ace said in a dangerous tone. "I suggest you explain and quickly."

"I've traveled through the Borders long enough to know that the spiral normally means that this is a safe place for people with Devil's Abilities."

"They're not Devils!" Ace all but growled.

"I know. I know," Marco reassured. "The only Devils I know are those who do things horrendous things to others; rape, murder, torture, pillaging. Those are Devils that have earned the name not just folks who happen to have interesting talents."

"Congratulations!" Ace now sounded more sarcastic than angry, "You're aware that the term can be applied to nonusers." He paused, "Your point, Marco?" Ace twitched as if he was preparing to leave.

Marco gave a slight tug on his arm to have him resettle in his chair. "It means I'm going out on a limb here, I have to trust you're not going to panic and out me to all and sundry as the bearer of bad tidings when I tell you what I know." It was clear that Marco had Ace's full attention now. "The last thing I picked up on the way out of Coalition was the declaration that they had resumed the Hunts."

Ace froze again. Marco could feel him tense up even further as he processed the news. His anger was still present but it was slowly abating. "Why in the world would they do that? Don't they remember what happened the last time?"

Marco simply shrugged. He had no answers for the younger man. Frankly he was just as confused about the Collective's decision.

Ace's reaction was slightly off. There was anger yes, but Ace appeared to be more upset and concerned than anything else. In fact the young man seemed to be oscillating between grim determination and hopeless disbelief for reasons Marco didn't know and couldn't even begin guess at. His best guess would be that there was some serious history there. Glancing out the window to give his friend some privacy to regain his composure Marco frowned. More time had passed than he had thought. He would have to leave now in order to make it back to the territory in time. Turning back he realized that Ace had managed to get his emotions under control. Marco smiled then giving Ace's arm a gentle squeeze he stood and shouldered his rucksack.

"You need to leave?" Ace asked though he clearly knew the answer.

"Yeah. The company is expecting me back. I need ensure that I make it on time so they don't ask uncomfortable questions. I'll try to come by tomorrow though. They're not going to make me take such a long trip anytime soon when I deliver my news. With the hunts starting again strangers and travelers will be easy targets for a bit."

Ace shook his head, but a smile was starting to form on his face, "So I'll take it you'll be in for lunch again tomorrow?"

Marco grinned, "Should be, yeah."

Ace smiled up at him, "Great. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Exactly," Marco said.

As he was walking out the door he barely avoided a collision with a young man wearing a red vest and a straw hat. Cries of "Luffy!" came from some of the regulars as the Marco and the young man traded places in the doorway. Fortunately, Marco managed to get a good look at the other and with a shock realized who he'd just run into. They'd never met, but there was no doubt in Marco's mind that this was Ace's younger brother. The family resemblance was unmistakable.

The kid was slightly banged up, but from the stories he had heard that was somewhat normal. Marco didn't quite know how but Luffy somehow managed to get into the most ridiculous amount trouble. What was strange was that the trouble he attracted seemed to be neither illegal nor immoral in nature. How he managed to do that living and working in Outskirts Marco had no idea.

Taking another few steps out into the street, Marco turned back to look at the door that was still closing shut behind Luffy offering him another look at the straw hat. It was nearly identical to the one on the sign. There was something familiar about that hat. It was clearly the hat on the sign but Marco was sure he'd seen it in another context. He wasn't sure entirely where or when but he'd seen that hat previously somewhere.

Taking another look at the sun's position Marco nearly swore. If he dallied for much longer, he really would be late and Izo wouldn't hesitate to make good on his threat. And frankly Marco wasn't keen on the idea of his family meeting Ace just yet. The mystery of the hat, the meaning of the sign and Ace's younger brother would have to be put off until a later date.


	2. Two Birds and a Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ace is the subject of a bet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: AU, Language, canon-typical violence, possible Out of Character moments, too many characters, OC's galore, implied sexual content, slow burn
> 
> Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners. I simply play with them for my, and your amusement.
> 
> Welcome to Chapter 2 all! It has been brought to my attention that there are some words that need clarification which makes sense and in hindsight I really should have thought of that. So if there is a word, term, or phrase that I use that makes absolutely no sense to you please feel free to let me know and I will start including definitions at the end of the chapter! 
> 
> Thanks again to the marvelous Ktwontwo who is betaing the entirety of this monster.
> 
> There is art! By the magnificent Idaida on tumblr! You can find it here!  
> http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds

Ace D. Portgas leaned back in his chair as his friend reluctantly got up to leave. As he watched Marco navigate around tables to the door he had to Ace smile fondly as he watched his youngest brother entered at exactly the same time as Marco attempted to exit. He stifled a chuckle while they danced around trying to get past each other so they could each be on their way. The commotion in the doorway had the side effect of drawing the attention of the rest of Luffy's crew who called out to their captain. Ace, however, ignored the background noise as he attempted to piece through what Marco had told him.

Ace wasn't stupid and often thought things through completely before he acted despite what his brothers or grandfather would say. Running a bar in the Border meant that you had tough customers; ones that you would have to deal with yourself if someone got upset. Being this close to Agvitatmaa also meant that you kept track of who Whitebeard's enemies were. You also quickly learned which of Whitebeard's crew would most likely be dispatched to deal with the particular enemies if they caused a fuss. Unlike most territory leaders Whitebeard actually cared about the adjoining Border and the people in it. Not to the extent that he considered it part of his territory and subject to his rules but enough that it was a generally accepted business practice to inform him if and when someone particularly nasty came to call. Even the Border had standards. So yes, Ace knew exactly who Marco was and his position in the Whitebeard hierarchy.

Granted, it had taken Ace longer than he would ever admit to discover Marco's full name and from there make a connection to between it and his appearance. In his defense however, it wasn't as if he had ever met the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Enforcers before moving to Outskirts. Besides, people impersonated others all the time in the Border, though it was rare for someone to try such a thing with one of Whitebeard's men. Ace remembered and sometimes wished he didn't what had happened the last time someone had tried that particular trick. The results had been messy to say the least. Ace also hadn't missed the look of relief that passed across Marco's face when Ace had not reacted to being told his name. He knew that look much more than he wanted to after seeing it on his brothers' faces and more frequently feeling it upon his own. He knew all too well what it was like to want a place to be yourself without anyone having any expectations or demanding things from you. It was for those reasons that even now, cycles after their initial meeting he still had not acknowledged or even alluded to his knowledge of Marco's identity. He wouldn't either, not until Marco changed that status himself or someone else outed him in public. Luckily, due to Marco's tendency towards privacy and a late lunch, Ace hadn't had to worry about the consequences of the latter just yet.

As far as the information was concerned; Marco's position, his penchant for secrecy, the fact that he'd specifically touched on a sensitive subject and had not let it drop assured Ace that he was passing on the truth. Probably not as many details as he had actually gathered nor as many as Ace would have liked but the world wasn't perfect. Besides Marco being who he was meant that he got more information than he was supposed to which meant that what he passed on often was better than what most people could find out. Ace wasn't sure whether he had a network of sources, a penchant for obtaining and compiling information from mundane sources, innate sneakiness, a specific power or most likely some combination thereof. Whatever it was it was damn effective despite the ludicrous reasons Marco came up with for his travels. Merchant Scout? Seriously? Ace had always wondered just who exactly did Marco think he was kidding? Well, apparently enough people fell for it. The ease that Marco had initially delivered the line as well as his background details suggested that he had used it frequently and presumably successfully at that.

"Ne, Ace," came a voice distracting him from his thoughts and Ace looked up to see Luffy join him at the table. "You going to eat that?"

Ace looked down at where his brother was pointing to his forgotten last half of sandwich. He made a show of looking at it, then up to Luffy's face then back to the sandwich. Ace shrugged, took a final bite then handed it over to Luffy's ultimate delight.

"So," David came up and stood at Luffy's shoulder, "What interesting news did Marco have for us this time?"

Ace grinned. "Oh nothing too exciting" he said as he nonchalantly gestured for the rest of Luffy's crew to gather round. "You guys finally have an official name. You all," he said gesturing, "are the Straw-Hat Vandals."

"We have a name yet?" David asked pulling out a chair to sit.

Ace shrugged. "Maybe. If we do Marco either didn't mention it or doesn't know it. He did however comment on the public details of the liberation of Cocoyashi."

"That was fun. Especially the party they threw us," Luffy said through a mouthful of sandwich spraying crumbs everywhere.

Nami, one of the crew who had grown up under the tyranny of Arlong merely rolled her eyes and smiled fondly at the young man she had chosen to follow.

"I'll bet," Ace continued with a grin. "On a more serious note, Lu, you were headed to Nefertari territory right?"

"Yepf," came the answer once again through a mouthful of food. There was a swallow and Luffy continued, "Now that everyone is better, we were gonna go tomorrow. Gotta catch up with Vivi. Why?"

"The situation may be worse than you think. Marco said that a large number of Brass were headed towards that area. It could be a coincidence."

"But you don't think so," Luffy replied in that cheerfully serious manner of his.

Ace nodded. "Based on what Marco said things are going wrong in the area and I don't like the sound of it. Take a SNAIL and yell if you need to. I have to be here but I'll send the rest of the Card Deck to help you out."

"Help?" Zoro, the green haired man draped bonelessly in the chair next to Luffy scoffed. "As if we're gonna need it."

"For once the Algae has a point," said the rough voice of Sanji who was perched on a nearby table smoking. He was the newest member of Luffy's group of scruffy misfits.

Usopp, the curly haired sniper muttered a soft "Speak for yourself."

Nami spoke up then, "But it would make me feel ever so much better."

"Anything for you, my dear," Sanji said simpering in her direction.

At roughly the same time Zoro remarked, "Whatever, witch," half under his breath.

With a rather violent mood swing Sanji hopped off the table and whirled on the swordsman, "What did you say about the lovely lady?"

"Nothing," Zoro muttered.

"Really?"

"Bring it," was Zoro's response one hand moving rather casually towards the hilt of one of the three swords that he carried.

Luffy, Ace and David traded looks then burst out laughing. The scene in front of them had become a frequent sight over the past few days while the group had waited to set out for their next adventure. It never failed to amuse. Usopp, hesitant as ever, joined in the laughter a beat behind the others. Neither Sanji nor Zoro noticed. They were too busy standing toe to toe tossing insults at each other. The insults kept getting more and more absurd which only served to increase the hilarity of the scene.

When a small tongue of flame ran down his face instead of a tear from laughter Ace sobered and stopped laughing. Ace pulled himself up from where he had half collapsed against David and looked over at his brother who was still laughing his ass off. Ace had almost forgotten to impart the most important piece of Marco's other news. Ace chided himself. He'd only remembered due to the slip in his abilities caused because he was laughing too hard. Looking around Ace was incredibly thankful that the bar only held Luffy's crew and a few members of his own.

Both crews were fully aware of his and Luffy's status as Users. Had anyone else been present, well, who knows what would have happened? The toleration of Users in the Borders was highly variable. Reactions to their existence and powers largely depended upon the specific ability and the particular area involved. If the ability wasn't too dangerous or was an advantage to the area as a whole the User was welcomed. Unfortunately situations like that were rare. More often than not, Users hid their abilities as much as possible hoping no one would discover their strange nature regardless of the nature and strength of the power. After performing some great heroic feat like diverting a flood or otherwise saving the entire settlement the best reaction that a User could hope for was one of willful ignorance. The residents of the settlement would know that there was a User was around but would not actually admit to knowing who the User was, what power he/she had and or the strength of said power. The system worked provided the User never slipped up.

Outskirts, however, was unique in dealing with the User population. It frequently housed people fleeing from persecution for any reason, Users included. As such it was quite a bit more tolerant than other Border areas so long as the power was under control and the damage was kept to a minimum. Even so, the reveal of Ace's own ability would more than likely cause more problems than it was worth. This was especially true in this area of the Border where fire, regardless of how necessary and useful, was always a danger. Even when an ability was considered "useless" it's discovery could be a problem. Luffy was a prime example of this. It wasn't his power. No one ever expected that someone who was quite literally a rubber man could cause as much trouble and damage as uncontrolled fire might. It was his personality. His brother was a living breathing trouble magnet. Once someone put two and two together Luffy could very easily become persona-non-grata.

Ace frowned slightly as he redirected his thoughts to his brother and this new problem at hand. Luffy wasn't the most careful person and getting caught by the Hunt would be much worse than it would have been when they were children. This far from their childhood home their grandfather's name wasn't worth much. Ace doubted that the fact that their grandfather worked for the World Coalition would not be enough to protect them from the usual fate that awaited captured Users.

It was because of that connection and the identification at a very young age that Luffy was a User that Ace knew more than most about the fate of captive Users. Upon first being caught by the Hunt a User would be forced to reveal the true nature of their ability. From there they were either declared useful or useless. If useful the user was "invited" to join the Brass or work for the Coalition in some form or fashion. If their powers were declared to be useless or they refused the offer of employment they were imprisoned and tortured to reveal the locations of other Ability users. There were also several rumors floating around that those users whom had been declared useless and criminals were eventually handed over to a scientific research facility and subjected to various experiments. Ace doubted that last bit, no one had ever been able to confirm the existence of such a place. Besides, executions were the more common option when the Coalition didn't particularly care about the user's ability or had gotten all that they believed they could from someone. After all, where there was life there was the hope of escape or rescue but dead was exactly that, dead.

That thought lead Ace to consider the World Collective's strategy overall. For reasons unknown no two abilities were ever exactly alike and throughout history no two people had ever held the same power at the same time. Given this fact the prevalence of executions made no sense. If the World Coalition was seriously attempting world domination then they should want to identify and keep all Users under wraps one way or another. The death of a User usually meant that someone else received the power. The process appeared to be entirely random, so there was no guarantee that someone who received a power would be within the reach of the World Coalition. Even if they were in Coalition territory there was no guarantee that the power would manifest immediately and whether or not the User would agree to work for them at all. Life imprisonment of useful but recalcitrant users would make more sense if only to keep such powers out of circulation. Ace was relatively sure that the Coalition's execution of users with demonstrably useful powers was a last resort but he wouldn't want to chance it. Not to mention there was no way in hell he'd allow either option to happen to his little brother.

Something about his sudden shift of mood caught Luffy's attention though because Ace suddenly found himself on the end of one of Luffy's rare serious stares. "What's wrong Ace?" he inquired.

No sooner had Luffy asked his question then the altercation between Sanji and Zoro suddenly degenerated from verbal insults to actual fighting. Ace ignored it.

"Be very careful," Ace finally said after a moment of returned study. He knew his brother was strong and could handle himself but this was different. "The World Collective has started the Hunts again."

Nami and Usopp who were paying more attention to Ace and Luffy than the fight both let out soft gasps of alarm.

Luffy, in contrast, simply looked unconcerned. Thankfully for Ace he didn't appear to dismiss the news off hand, as he would have as a child, instead he simply smiled. "No worries Ace! I have my crew to help me!"

Ace nodded, "That you do. You should probably leave early tomorrow so that you don't get caught behind the Brass headed for Neferati. I doubt they are going to be moving terribly fast since I suspect they'll also have orders to implement the Hunt along the way."

Any further advice that Ace had prepared to give was cut short as Zoro and Sanji's fight escalated in ferocity. Ace complained, "For fucks sake guys, take it outside! I refuse to replace any more tables because of you two!"

"Don't worry about it too much Ace," Nami said watching the fight with a cross between interest and annoyance. "If they break anything else I'll just take it out of their pay or their hides whichever appeals."

"Alright," Ace said with a shrug as he watched the pair. They had started moving toward the door immediately after Nami spoke. It appeared that they were at least making an effort to not destroy anything on the way.

Ace whistled slightly to himself, impressed. After a moment of contemplation Ace discarded the idea he'd just had about making them scrub the shop floor with toothbrushes. Apparently the pair feared Nami adding to whatever already existing debt they already had more than they feared Ace's retribution. After a moment more thought he decided that he didn't really care provided his tables remained in one piece. Though he did have to ask as he watched the pair tumble into the street outside, "Lu, are they always like that?"

"Yep yep!" Luffy giggled, "Long as the've been with me. Its fun!"

Ace raised an eyebrow, but grinned all the same. "Fun, huh? Seems like it." More conversation was cut off as the door opened again as another traveler walked in eyes wide, occasionally looking back at the fight going on behind him. Ace and David exchanged a slightly resigned glance. It was time to get back to work.

Despite the news of the Hunts starting up again being in the back of everyone's mind, the next few days were rather peaceful. Well as peaceful as life in the border could ever get. Ace had ejected four people from his bar and had to interfere in seven different fights. On the other hand, it was nice to be so busy. It kept him from worrying too much about what his brothers were up to.

Unfortunately the information that kept trickling in had Ace slightly worried. The situation in the Nefertari territory was worse than he had feared and that meant Luffy was heading straight into trouble. To add to his worry, the Coalition had apparently decided to get off of their asses for once by assigning Brass Captain Smoker Chase to identify, find, and capture the Straw-hat Vandals. It was a really good thing that the bar was keeping Ace busy, otherwise he would have been tempted to go and attempt to catch up to his brother and help him whether he wanted the help or not.

According to his sources, Luffy and company had run through the border town of Drum, an area famous for its back alley doctors, and overthrown what equated to the government there. Not a terribly difficult task since the local government in Drum consisted of whom so ever happened to be strong enough to impose "protection payments" on the local populace. Hopefully the good citizens of Drum would take the opportunity to install a better system but Ace didn't think he'd wager anything on that outcome.

His sources as well as the traveler's tales from the bar were also were also rife with other rumors. These were strange at worst and hilariously misinformed at best regarding current goings on in an about the area. The most outlandish of the bunch kept referencing a group that the World Coalition had dubbed The Fire Fist Gang. It was with some amusement, as he was listening to a patron describe a rather over exaggerated series of events, that he realized the Fire Fist Gang was the name that had been bestowed upon the Card Deck. He grinned as he remembered how the story took one melodramatic turn after another. Given the clearly embellished nature of the stories he absentmindedly wondered if they should bother to plant any evidence at the site of their next attack to correct the name and build up their reputation. He was still musing over this idea much later in the day, long after everyone had left and he had started to close up.

"So, Cap" a rough voice drawled pulling him from his thoughts and Ace turned to face Marie Black, his plump and pretty friend who often worked with David to help him man the bar. "Didja hear the stories about the Fire Fist gang?" The grin she offered him was wicked and full of an inappropriate sort of glee. "Some yahoos have vivid imaginations. Telling tall tales about events they only heard of from a friend of a friend's cousin who might have been somewhere in the vicinity and may have talked to an actual witness or something! Fucking rumor mongers."

It was always amusing to work the bar with Marie. Her pretty face and normally friendly disposition had fooled many in times past. Ace, David and those who were regulars knew something that most people did not. Behind the pretty face laid one of the sharpest, foulest tongues of anyone Ace knew and her chubby frame could deliver one of the strongest punches to boot. Neither the punches nor the cutting remarks would be held back when she got offended, as many had found often to their dismay. It all depended on the level of intelligence of the insult and or the state of drunkenness of the offending party exactly, which of her talents she employed.

Ace knew his own answering grin was a mirror image of Marie's. "I did indeed. Seemed a bit familiar don't you think?"

Marie just hummed in agreement as her grin grew wider. "How many stories did they have to tell before you figured it out?"

"Four. Why?" Ace asked suspiciously.

"No reason." Marie said, with false sweetness as she pretended to be occupied with sweeping the floor once again.

Ace narrowed his eyes. "You've been betting with David again, haven't you?"

"Maaaaaaaybe" Marie sung mockingly and Ace sighed.

"I thought we agreed to stop that?"

"Never!"

"How much did'ja bet this time?" Ace countered.

"Not telling!"

"Marie!"

"Nope!" she proclaimed cheerfully. "Not telling!"

"Not even if I do this?" Ace asked, casting aside his own broom and lunging for his friend who simply cackled joyfully as she dodged and took off Ace right on her heels.

A few minutes later, the game was interrupted by a voice commenting wryly from the door. "I thought we were trying to avoid breaking any more tables."

"I won!" Marie crowed as she recognized the voice and figure first.

"Won what?" David asked confused.

"The bet, apparently" Ace grumbled. "I thought we'd agreed to stop betting on each other."

David's grin was small but present as he handed Ace a small sheaf of papers brought back from the small post box that Ace kept in the Whitebeard Territory, "You decreed. We listened and then chose to ignore it."

"I can see that," Ace said looking down at the paper in his hands.

Skimming the densely written missive Ace realized that it was a coded set of reports. It looked like his sources had sent on a good bit of information from all around the border. He grabbed a chair and settled down to reading. He wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for but he'd know it when he saw it.

He was only half paying attention to the conversation that Marie and David were having while reading the broker's summary. It was only when they started talking about the nature of the bet that Ace began to pay attention. Given that the bet had been on how many stories it would take Ace felt he had to defend his failure to recognize the Card Deck's exploits.

"Give me a break!" Ace looked up from the papers, "Those stories were mainly about the runs I wasn't present for! Anyways, getting called the Fire Fist Gang is a little irritating. We should fix that," he commented shuffling the papers to take a look at the underlying information. The handwriting on one of the papers caught his attention and he immediately started to read that one first. If his brother had taken the time to send him something it was bound to be important.

"And how the hell do you want us to fix that?" Marie asked. "That would involve blowing up some more shit and leaving enough evidence for them to give us a new name that happens to correspond with what we are actually called. Even then they might not bother. You know them. Once they give something a code name they never bother to change it regardless of how stupid it sounds."

"I dunno," Ace said absently as he scanned the paper in front of him.

His face split into a rather wide grin that kept growing the more he read. This was fantastic news. His brother had come through for him yet again. In the background, David and Marie had returned to arguing. They now happened to be debating the details on how exactly to get the World Coalition to give them proper name credit as opposed to who had won the bet.

"We just need to set more shit on fire!" Marie exclaimed

"And what will that do?" David countered calmly. "That's just causing more wanton destruction! Unless we leave something behind they'll just keep calling us by the wrong name! No we'd have to come across as a completely different group to get our proper name in the records."

"But we can't leave things behind! Or did you forget that you were the one to come up with that rule you fucktard? As a former Toilet resident, you were the one who warned us that they had sufficiently advanced technology to track us through any leftover evidence. That's why we've been burning things in the first place."

David's expression turned murderous at the reminder of his past, and Ace knew he had to interfere or he really would end up with broken tables at the minimum. "Cut it out you two. We'll worry about it later." He finally said putting down the paper on the table and bringing up his hand to adjust his hat. "It was just a random thought after all. I care enough that it marginally upsets me that they don't call us by our real name, but not enough to let the Sewer Lords know that." He was relieved when his new nickname for the World Coalition, colloquially WC, got a chuckle from Marie and a look of contemplation from David. Whew crisis adverted, he thought. "Besides, we have something a little more important to focus on."

"Oh?" Marie inquired, while David shot him a look that said he clearly knew what Ace was trying to do but was willing to play along for the moment.

"Two things actually, both pertaining to Blackbeard." Ace said and the mood turned grim. "First, we've finally got a lead on his identity. Royal Blue wanted to take a couple more days to confirm things before he passed that piece of information on though so specifics will probably arrive tomorrow or the day after. Secondly," Ace continued with a grimace on his face "he's finally learned how to be sneaky. Or, well, sneakier than he has been. Blackbeard has unfortunately managed to set up a base of operations in the border on the far side of Agvitatmaa, between the 8th gate and Mériens. They've been spying on the territory from that spot for months."

David's frown was minute but noticeable. "Why didn't anyone notice it?" He asked.

Marie then threw in her own two cents. "What kind of incompetent people do they have on duty over there? Don't they patrol that area?"

David's frown deepened. "We also patrol that area."

"I know." Marie snapped back. "I was including myself in that bout of incompetence, thank you very much, seeing as I was one of the people on the last patrol!"

Ace simply shrugged as if the oversight didn't bother him in the slightest. "Blackbeard finally got someone who understood what being sneaky was about apparently."

"And gave the bastard authority to actually implement being sneaky if they managed to hide from me," Marie commented. "Or bitch I suppose," she added after a pause.

"Unlikely," remarked David. "Blackbeard has always been a bit on the misogynistic side if you ask me."

Despite the nonchalance that Ace was currently attempting to project, he could tell that Marie and David knew his apparent indifference was total bull and the looks Marie and David were giving him suggested that they were not buying it. Likewise, he knew that the banter also masked a deep interest in this particular information. It didn't really surprise him. Other than his siblings, the pair probably knew him the best and knew exactly how deep his grudge against Blackbeard ran despite it having changed from a roaring inferno to embers ready to ignite at the slightest touch.

"So," Ace continued fingering the brim of his hat, "They had planned to launch another attempt to discredit Whitebeard and seize control of the territory from that base in the next few days." He let the fire that he normally kept so carefully under control play around his fingers, lighting up his face with what he knew was sporting a slightly deranged grin. The extra light allowed him to see that his friends had caught his train of thought and were sporting maniac grins of their own. "What do you say that we kill two birds with one stone and go solve Whitebeard's problems and incidentally fix this little patrol oversight of ours?"


	3. Dirty Laundry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exposition Theater part 1: In which many things come to light and the Whitebeard Enforcers are rather confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Apologies for the lateness of this one. Life did as it does and happened so I was a bit busy and was unable to post. For those of you who still wish for a glossary of terms that I created/altered the meaning of please let me know and I will include definitions at the end of the chapter! As always let me know what you think! I love hearing from you all and it makes me happy to know that you guys are enjoying this. Again thanks to Ktwontwo who is still helping me go through the rest of this monstrosity.
> 
> All characters belong to their respective owners. I simply play with them for my, and your amusement.
> 
> Just wanted to remind you all that this story was created for the OP 2016 Big Bang and as such amazing art that I was graciously allowed to use for a cover was created by my partner the magnificent Idaida on tumblr! You can find a much larger and better version of the picture here! post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds

Sometime in the past week the world had decided to go crazy Marco decided as he studied the two contradicting missives on his desk. Thanks to the information he had obtained from his trip he had known something like this would happen, but even he had not expected it to happen so quickly. Less than a week after his return the situation had become convoluted and the true reason behind the Hunts restarting was down right shocking.

Whitebeard needed to see this, Marco decided gathering all the reports into an organized pile. He wanted to inform Ace as well. Probably the only benefit of the situation as it stood was that he could make more frequent trips to the S'andwich Bar. In fact, he had plans to sneak out for lunch that very afternoon.

It would be nice to get away from his family for a bit. He felt like he hadn't had any peace in the past five days. If it wasn't someone attempting to coddle him because he couldn't go out in the field then it was folks walking on eggshells because he was perceived as being _restless_. Thatch, in an attempt to get everyone to stop treating him as if he were made of glass had started a prank war. Some of the pranks were amusing, others not so much. The past two days exploits had unfortunately been public to the point that openly going into Outskirts was only worth it if he were completely willing to sacrifice his anonymity and that was something he wasn't willing to do just yet. Marco knew that he would have to tell Ace his identity eventually, but today was not that day. Today, he was going to hang out with his friend and pass on the real reason behind the reappearance of the hunts.

Marco knew the reason behind the hunts would be of interest to Ace. Anytime the Collective decided to go after a particular person or User they were even more relentless than usual. It would be a good thing for the news of the hunts as well as the underlying reason to be spread as widely as possible anyways. As more people learned that they were on again the more bounty hunters would be driven into the Border by their own lust and greed. Bounty hunters were not terribly picky about who they turned in provided the reward was worth their time and effort. Frankly bounty hunters were almost as disruptive to life in the Border as the hunts themselves were. If folks knew they were coming they could prepare for the worst or get out of the way.

There was only one problem with his plan. Marco, if he really was a merchant scout, wouldn't have had the access to find out the reason behind the Word Coalition's actions. Oh well. He would just have to figure out some other explanation as to how he got the information. From a friend of a friend perhaps? Wrong place at the right time to overhear something?

The pounding of feet in the hallway pulled him from his thoughts. That noise was his only warning before his door flew open. Marco looked up, ready to reprimand whoever had burst in but stopped short. Haruta stood there, a rather concerned expression on his face.

"What happened?" Marco asked. It had to be something momentous. While Haruta ran everywhere they, normally, unlike Thatch, had enough common sense to not slam open his door.

"Jinbe's here." The tone of voice was completely at odds with the worry and concerned look present on their face.

Marco blinked in surprise. Jinbe was a family friend and more. Unfortunately due to the meddling of the World Collective he was not often able to visit.

"Jinbie? Here? Why? Is it the Hunts? Is he playing messenger for the Collective again? If he isn't will this visit negate the deal he has with the World Collective?" Marco wondered aloud.

Haruta shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like Jinbe could help it. He's injured and we were closer than Mériens"

Marco stared. "Injured?" he asked, more than a little concerned. Jinbe was strong. If he had been given an injury that was affecting him to the point that he'd been forced to come to their territory for help then something was seriously wrong.

Haruta just nodded.

"Right. I'm coming." Marco said. "Do we know how it happened or who caused his injuries?"

Haruta shook their head. " He showed up an hour or so ago looking rather worse for wear and asked to see Pops. He'd somehow managed to get some treatment out in the boonies but Pops insisted on him seeing medical first. They bandaged him up and slipped him into Pop's office before anyone could talk to him. They've been behind closed doors until just a few minutes ago. Pops just called for a commanders meeting so we'll probably find out what's up. Whatever it is, it's got to be serious."

"Right." Marco said half to himself as he stood up and grabbed his papers. "I needed to talk to Pops and the rest of you anyways so I suppose this will save some time."

The commander's meeting room was the largest room in the main complex and perhaps the most heavily fortified. It had to be, as it was one of the only place where the entirety of the chain of command could fit comfortably. Looking around as he entered the room, Marco noticed that he and Haruta were fortunately not going to be the last people to enter the room. Marco headed toward his normal seat then adjusted slightly when he realized that Jinbe was already occupying it. Inwardly shrugging, Marco took the next seat over, which gathered him a small smile from his father. Taking a moment to look at his friend and unofficial brother, Marco winced as he realized the extent of Jinbe's injuries. Haruta hadn't given him any details but Marco had known it was bad simply from the fact that Jinbe had apparently hotfooted it for the closest safe haven rather than back to his own territory.

It was quite a bit worse than he expected from Haruta's description. Jinbe was covered, head to toe in bruises, burns and bandages. He looked exhausted and was sitting completely still, as if it hurt to move. What was really telling was that most of the visible damage looked several days healed. That told Marco that Jinbe's injuries had initially been much worse. Fishmen healed rather quickly after all, certainly faster than normal people though not quite as fast as Marco himself did. Looking at the damage his friend had sustained caused Marco to wonder what condition his opponent had been left in for Jinbe always gave as good as he got.

"You appear to have taken a pounding." Marco said by way of greeting.

Jinbe's expression did not change much. "I did indeed. Hopefully, the other fellow also feels as bad as I do."

"Who were you fighting?"

Jinbe looked around and at a nod from Pops commenced, "I believe I had an encounter with the infamous Fire Fist gang that has had you all so concerned."

That one sentence silenced the entire room, which Marco absently noted was now completely full. The rest of the commanders had all received Marco's initial report and analysis including the theory that the Fire Fist was a User and his concerns regarding the locations of the attacks which were steadily getting closer to their territory.

The room suddenly erupted into noise and chaos as everyone tried to get their questions in all at once. "How'd you know it was Fire Fist?" "What did he look like?" "How strong is he?" were only a few of the questions Marco was able to pick out of the babble before Edward Newgate, also called some variant of _Pops_ by most of the people in the room, spoke from the head of the table.

"Children, please" Whitebeard said and the room quieted almost instantaneously.

Marco kept his face calm but frowned inwardly. Normally, Pops would have laughed at the antics of his siblings. The fact that he hadn't, implied that whatever was going on was rather serious, and more concerning than the potential threat posed by the Fire Fist gang.

Whitebeard continued "Jinbe please tell them what you told me."

Jinbe nodded. "It is nice to see you all. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"What's going on?" Thatch piped up, apparently unable to keep his inquiries to himself and earned a glare from Pops.

"Six days ago, I was returning from a meeting with the leaders of the World Collective when I came across a rather large Border settlement approximately halfway between Mériens and your borders."

Namur, whose division patrolled that area frowned. "How far out was it? I took a team into the border just last week and there were no settlements there."

Jinbe smiled grimly. "Do not beat yourself up over it, friend. I did not know of its existence either for it was rather cleverly hidden. I only found it because it exploded."

"Did you say that it exploded? " Fossa asked.

"Aye."

"Huh." Fossa stroked his mustache thoughtfully. " Do you know what caused it?"

"Unfortunately not. I thought I heard voices in the rubble and started to put out the fire so that people could escape about the blaze when I was attacked. At the time I believed I was only dealing with a single woman, though this was soon rectified and I later realized that I had encountered the group referred to by the World Collation as the Fire Fist Gang."

"Wait, the Fire Fist is female?" Was Vista's question.

"Nay, but at least one of the group is. The woman fought with a pair of punching daggers and was holding her own when someone further inside the blaze let out a string of rather impressive swearing, distracting her. I moved in to render her unconscious and was interrupted by a second fighter, this one a tall lanky man who wielded a glaive. The woman took the chance to yell for another member of their party."

"By name?" Blamenco spoke up this time.

"Yes. Well, perhaps. She was calling rather creatively for 'Spade'"

"Is it the guy's actual name?" Rayuko wanted to know.

"I doubt it." Jozu interjected. "If the man is indeed a User…"

"Aye, there is no doubt that Spade is a User. I do not know the true nature of his powers but it appears to be connected to fire."

Jozu nodded. "Then that is probably a codename of some sort. No man with a power that destructive would use the real one when it makes it easier for the World Collective to find them."

"Even so," Jiru added, "a codename can occasionally be better than an epithet. You said she called for him?"

"It was more of an angry demand, but yes. I believe the exact wording was 'Would you stop dicking around Spade? We have a goddamned problem out here, you fucking pyro!' She then resumed attacking me. I think she had noticed that my opponent with the glaive was starting to waiver. Whoever had been in the complex before the explosion had put up a rather tough fight and the guy with the glaive had taken the brunt of it. They teamed up to face me and were doing a good job covering each other's attacks. They were good enough to hold me off for a bit."

"If they can do that, it means that they have been fighting together for a while." Curiel mentioned offhandedly.

"I agree." Jinbe said. "It was clear they were attempting to buy time for Spade to show up. I could see they were tiring quickly and I almost had them when I was tackled from the side."

There was slightly shocked blinking as the room took in that information save for Atmos's amused chuckling. After a moment Marco realized why. Jinbe was rather large as was Atmos and both were experienced fighters. Neither of them were strangers to being tackled nor to people attempting to bodily move them out of the way. Those that tried were often in for a nasty surprise. After he had calmed slightly Atmos spoke. "I assume this 'Spade' tackled you? Please tell me…"

Jinbe managed to look slightly affronted. "Who do to take me for Atmos? Of course I threw him. Though I was surprised. That man's strength is nothing to scoff at."

Thatch laughed. "The guy managed to push you back didn't he."

Jinbe now looked sheepish. "He did indeed. I threw him into his to compatriots. He ignored them in favor of charging me again."

Kingdew frowned disapprovingly. "Did he have no regard for their wellbeing?" Murmurs of agreement echoed through the room.

They all knew they were slightly unusual in that regard. In general, most everyone in the room considered not only each other but also all the members of the Enforcers as family. Those who lived in the territory were usually classified as extended family and friends. It wasn't a common attitude but to a person they never stopped hoping to come across it in other places.

"That was why he charged me." Jinbe acknowledged with a perplexed smile. "Just before I tossed him he was yelling at his companions demanding that they leave him and get away before they got themselves injured worse than they already were. He was concerned that I would ignore him and go after them as the easier targets."

"Would you have?" Izo wanted to know.

"Perhaps if I had been given the chance." Jinbe admitted. "I would have liked to disable them before dealing with this _Spade_. "

"What do you mean if you had been given the chance?" Marco said, speaking for the first time since the meeting had started.

"As I said earlier, that young man's strength is nothing to laugh at. In order to allow his companions to escape Spade kept me completely occupied with his attacks. It was, interesting." Jinbe mused. "Once he had ensured that my attention was fully on him and not his companions, Spade revealed that he knew how fight using a knife and rather well at that. Once I had disarmed him and cast the knife into the flames he opted to fight with his fists instead of retrieving it. I believe his powers would have made it possible for him to retrieve the blade but he didn't. I suspect that he realized my strength would probably outlast his own so he started to use his Ability. At that point, I became rather focused on the fight. I think we went for five days more or less. I lost track. That man will go far if he does not burn himself out. Fighting him was rather like fighting a wildfire during a drought."

Shocked silence reigned in the room and everyone had varying expressions of shock on their faces. Thatch's mouth was opening and closing giving him the appearance of a dumbstruck goldfish. Even Whitebeard had a frown upon his face.

"Son," Whitebeard said "What stopped the fight? If this fight was on our border why did we not hear of this sooner? We would have assisted had we known."

Marco blinked at his father. While everyone knew Jinbe was one of Whitebeard's family in all but name, that connection was never officially acknowledged in order to not give the World Collective another reason to dislike their unofficial brother. To hear Whitebeard call Jinbe his son openly, even though only the highest-ranking members of the family were present, showed everyone exactly how worried he had been.

"I have no doubt about that," Jimbe flashed a smile at pops, "The fight occurred in the midst of an inferno. You know as well as I do that the Borders have periods of time where parts are aflame. Why should you suspect that this particular fire was any different?" The silence in the room answered his question though Marco knew Jinbe would see that they all felt guilty. "It is of no consequence." He said finally. "You did not even know of the existence of the compound that Fire Fist attacked in the first place so do not go beating yourselves up for things not under your control. But to answer the earlier question, what truly ended the fight was exhaustion. Well, exhaustion and interference. After fighting continuously for so long we were both on the verge of passing out yet neither of us was willing to surrender or call truce. Imagine our surprise when the fight was ended for us. His companions came charging back through the flames and joined in the fight."

"There were people crazy enough to do something like that?" Thatch asked incredulously. "Who would do something like that?"

"Apparently the people who were crazy enough to assist a User set fire to a random compound in the first place."

"His companions came back?" Blenheim asked as if repeating the fact would make it more understandable.

"Indeed. Though I do not know what happened after, as I passed out. When I awoke, I found myself on the edge of where we had fought. I was hidden in an area out of the direct line of sight of anyone on the road, under rather decent cover. To my surprise, my wounds had been treated and partially bandaged as well. It was simply a large number of field dressings ensuring that I wouldn't bleed out and there was a packet along with some supplies in my lap."

"And you're all right now?" Blamenco asked with slight concern

"I am well enough. I heal fast enough that there were no problems. It simply looks worse than it is."

"Well, I'm certainly confused." Haruta said. "He fought you to a standstill for five days, then he and his companions gave you first aid and supplies? Who the hell are these people?"

"I do not know. As I said I believe them to be the Fire Fist Gang. I was just as confused as you are but as the group was no longer present, I was unable to question them. Instead I turned my attention to the package of supplies."

"What did you find out?" Jiru wanted to know.

"The package contained some food, water and a bunch of papers. The first page was a note from those I had been fighting. It…" Here Jinbe had a rather peculiar look on his face as if he could not understand what exactly had occurred either. "It was an apology of all things"

"An apology?" Haruta questioned, no doubt adding that to the mental list of things that made no sense about this group.

"Aye. Apparently Spade's subordinates had learned my identity sometime after they had left and knew of my connection to you. It was for that reason they had treated my wounds, but according to the note they could not afford to let me catch them, nor did they have the ability to take me somewhere safer. The group refereed to themselves as the Card Deck and I doubt they are aware that they are also referred to as the Fire Fist Gang, courtesy of the World Collective."

"Why did your connection to us matter?" Whitebeard asked, leaning forward in his chair slightly.

Jinbe shrugged. "I do not know exactly. According to the note, they owe you a debt for some unspecified reason or another."

Marco met his father's eyes as they both searched their memories for people they had met who resembled Jinbe's earlier descriptions "I know of no such person or group who might owe me a debt." Whitebeard rumbled, looking thoughtful while Marco struggled with sorting through a massive amount of faces contained in his memory relatively quickly. He and Whitebeard had _saved_ many people over the years, though most had come about because Pops had taken exception to any number of things in the area. As such, because they had helped for no real reason he often took no reward despite the fact that the people they "saved" often wished for the Whitebeards to do so anyways. Perhaps the group had an explanation like that, for he didn't know of all the people who mistakenly thought they owed him something. Finally Marco shook his head slightly in response to Whitebeard's questioning gaze. He would have to get a better description later, but as of right now none of the people Jinbe had fought seemed at all familiar to him.

"The note had no further explanation than that. It was also clear that they knew how territory politics worked. They understood that my connection to you along with their activities would have demanded that I hand them over to you if I had caught them. The note mentioned that meeting the Agvitatmaa Enforcers was not conducive to the furtherance of their agenda."

"They admitted to having an agenda?" Marco asked, rather surprised. Normally when one group attempted to use another, it was never revealed until after the fact. The fact that the Card Deck had an agenda that appeared to include helping Whitebeard was strange. The fact that they had admitted the existence of said agenda through a note was even stranger.

"Aye, though the note said nothing more on that either. The last item of interest was a request that I pass the rest of the packet on to you as quickly as I could."

"I find it interesting that they did not bother to find out if you actually would pass on the packet." Curiel said. "They simply assumed you would"

"Yeah, these people are weird." Haruta proclaimed decisively. "Interesting, but weird."

"It did not matter. When I looked through the packet and realized what I now held, I knew I would acquiesce to their request because you all would want to see it. "

"What was in the packet?" Thatch asked, "I mean that's the point of this meeting right?"

"Indeed." Jinbe said before exchanging an undecipherable look with Whitebeard. "The packet contained information."

"On?" Izo piped up suddenly very interested, while Whitebeard and Jinbe exchanged another look. At Whitebeard's nod, he motioned to a thick packet of paper sitting on the table. He shuffled through them quickly then passed part of the the contents to Izo.

As Izo read, Whitebeard spoke. "It is the contents of that packet that have me concerned children. If the information is accurate, then we have several very large problems on our hands."

Marco turned to watch his brother and frankly he did not like what he saw. The more Izo read, the whiter he was turning.

"Jinbe," Izo finally asked, horror and worry apparent in every word. "How accurate is this? Do you have any idea how they managed to learn this information? I've received some things that indicate this but haven't been able to confirm any of it yet!"

"I cannot vouch for all of it, but I took care to mark the information that I could directly verify from my own knowledge. I have no idea how Spade and his companions discovered it."

"What is it?" Jozu asked.

"Blackbeard." Thatch hissed, having moved from his seat to read over Izo's shoulders.

"What?!" was the thunderous cry in the room.

"What has that unholy bastard done now?" Vista demanded.

Blackbeard. Just the name was enough to bring a grimace of distaste to Marco's face. That was the name of a leader of a rather slimy organization that had been attempting to take over their territory for a little over half a year and each attempt was more unpleasant than the last. Unfortunately they hadn't been able to learn much about the man himself or his plans. Whenever they had managed to capture a member of Blackbeard's attacking forces he was sent to their goals and interrogated for information. It hadn't been helpful yet, as Blackbeard held things rather close to his chest. The most his mooks knew were the basic details of their plan of the day, the name of their commander, and the belief that they were going to take out Whitebeard. They hadn't managed to yet, but Blackbeard's unusual persistence had started a numerous amount of rumors regarding anything and everything, from the size of his shoe to a hypothetical description or even a real name. However, rumors were rumors and if there was a kernel of truth amongst them it would take time to find. That was what Izo had been working on for the past eight months, though he had stepped up his game in the past three.

For no apparent reason, Blackbeard had not bothered to attack for the last few months. Unable to find neither hide nor hair of the man or his organization the citizens of Whitebeard had started to entertain the notion that Blackbeard had given up. The commanders and the members of the enforcers knew better. At this point in time of their lives, there wasn't a single member of the Enforcers that hadn't been in a long drawn out skirmish of some sort and knew it was entirely more likely that Blackbeard had holed up somewhere to wait or was attempting to gain more allies or some combination of the two. Whatever the reason the results were unlikely to be pleasant judging by the expressions on both Thatch and Izo faces.

Thatch shook his head. "I… it…" Clearing his throat, Thatch tried again. "It's not what Blackbeard has done. It's more of what this _Spade_ and the Card Deck have managed to discover."

"Well, what is it?" Jozu demanded impatiently.

"The Card Deck says they know who Blackbeard is." Izo said flatly, spreading out the pile on the table in front of him, a silent invitation for the others to read the papers themselves.

"Isn't that good news?" Rakuyo asked "I mean, that's what you've been trying to figure out since we first heard the name right, Izo?"

Izo grimaced, but shook his head. "Normally yes, I would say that it's good news that we know who he is."

"Then what is the problem?" Fossa asked.

"The problem is who they identify as Blackbeard," Izo said glancing at Thatch out of the corner of his eye. Marco followed his brother's gaze and his frown deepened. Thatch really wasn't looking to good. His knuckles were white with tension as he gripped the back of Izo's chair.

"So?" Jiru demanded to know reclaiming Marco and Izo's attention. He was practically vibrating in his seat, much like a scent dog that had been told it wasn't allowed to chase after its suspect yet.

"According to this, Blackbeard is Teach." Izo growled.

There was a silence then Jiru asked tentatively, as if to confirm that he hadn't heard that incorrectly, "Teach?"

Izo nodded, his expression stony and unchanging while the room collectively turned to study Thatch who had sat down rather heavily moments earlier. Marco sat there with a sense of disbelief and moderate denial that was spread throughout the room. Six months ago, there had been what appeared to be a border dispute on the edge of the 4th and 5th territory, though it was later revealed to have been instigated by Blackbeard's men. When the commanders had shown up to help settle things everything went to hell in a hand basket and during the fight, Thatch had been injured. It had been an accident or so they had thought at the time due to the person who had claimed responsibility for Thatch's near fatal injury, one of their own men, a man named Teach D. Marshall. They had all accepted his story but afterwards Teach had been different. When questioned about what was bothering him, Teach had explained that he still hadn't been able to forgive himself for injuring his brother, even on accident and left the Enforcers. They still had considered him family but he continued to pull away despite all of their efforts to keep in touch and he had eventually dropped off the grid. They had kept an eye out for their wayward brother but had been unable to find him. Frankly the Whitebeards had privately feared the worst, that Teach had been captured by an enemy of Whitebeard who thought he would make a good target now that he was no longer a part of the Enforcers. And all this time it had appeared their worry had been for nothing. The man they had considered one of their brothers, a member of their family, had been an enemy in hiding laying in wait and studying them and their methods for the past 15 years.

"It wasn't an accident." Thatch said rather shakily. Marco couldn't tell if it was due to the shock of the information that he had jus learned or due to the scrutiny that he was under from the rest of the room. "He meant to kill me." Thatch continued, "He honestly meant to kill me. Why am I still alive? We've all seen Teach fight. He's a ruthless son of a bitch. When he wants someone dead, they tend to die. Why am I not dead? Why did he change his mind?"

Looks were exchanged around the room but no answers were given. Finally Marco had to ask, "How sure are we that this is accurate?"

Jinbe and Izo turned to look at Marco, Jinbe's pitying and Izo's furious. Izo spoke first. "I'd been hearing rumors and getting tidbits of information regarding Blackbeard's identity for months and I've been working on confirming them but that takes time . Teach's name had popped up occasionally but I thought the claim was ridiculous. After all, he was one of us. When I came across his name the first time he still was one of us. Since he left his name has become more frequent in the rumors. I was trying to confirm it but wasn't able to."

Izo paused, "Damn him!" he suddenly snarled. "Teach knows a decent number of my sources. He's been keeping us all in the dark for months and I allowed it, simply because I didn't want to believe that a family member had betrayed us!"

"I did not want to believe that piece of news when I read it the first time either." Jinbe said "Teach was a friend of mine as well, and due to the nature of how I received the information I initially suspected the Card Deck of attempting to throw you all into chaos and turn you against a former Enforcer and maybe even each other."

"Could that be their goal?" Atmos asked with a frown of his own.

Jinbe shook his head. "I do not believe so. That assumption was born of my lack of knowledge about Teach having left the Enforcers and disappearing months ago. Fortunately or unfortunately in this case for I still would very much like it to not be true, I do not face the same problems that Izo does. Teach does not know any of my sources which will allow me to confirm some of this rather quickly. Personally I do believe it. The amount and detail of information provided caused me to go over all of my interactions with the man over the years and finally some things started to make sense, like his strange need for too much detail when he never planned to become a division commander."

"Can we stick to calling him Blackbeard?" Curiel requested, his voice deceptively mild. "It infuriates me to know that the man we once called friend and family is suspected of doing this, but it has not been confirmed yet and I feel as if constantly referring to our adversary by the name of our brother will permanently link Teach to something he may not have done. He was our brother. Until Jinbe or Izo can confirm this, we should at least give him the benefit of doubt."

There was a general murmur of agreement in the room. Rayuko spoke raising his voice slightly to be heard, "This changes everything. And it explains why we were having so much trouble fending off Blackbeard's attacks. He had been attacking our weak spots because he knew exactly where they were from his years with us."

"What happened to the benefit of doubt?" Curiel growled, the anger coming off of him in waves.

Rayuko glared back but stood his ground. "I'm not saying that it's Teach! I don't want to believe it either but you have to acknowledge that the idea holds some merit. After months of scrutiny, we still haven't found a mole. It simply makes more sense that whoever is passing along this information to Blackbeard was once one of us. Teach wasn't the only one who's ever left the Enforcers! Hell, he's not even the most recent! And plenty of others who left before and after him left under much worse circumstances or even gone out with a grudge of their own!"

Rayuko had increase in volume, anger and exasperation the longer he continued, leaning over the table as he did so. Curiel's expression and apparent anger did not abate in the slightest and the room buzzed with a strange tenseness. Something needed to be done before the pair came to blows, Marco realized. It was simply a question of what.

Thankfully, Thatch had appeared to realize that as well. Despite being the main instigator behind arguments due to his pranks, he also was the best person to break up a fight or solve personal problems within the family. Provided of course it didn't involve Izo. "Does the package say why Blackbeard has stopped these past three months?" He asked and Marco nearly sighed in relief as the sudden question diverted the attention of the room and both of his siblings backed down. Marco studied them surreptitiously. There would be problems between Curiel and Rayuko until they sorted this out but it would have to be taken care of later.

"Apparently that would be on account of the Card Deck." Namur explained, looking up from the papers that he had been studying. "It appears that the destruction that we have been attributing to the _Fire Fist gang_ or the Card Deck or whatever we are going to call them and what we have been keeping an eye on was simply the group going around and destroying Blackbeard's operations as soon as they found out about them. They even provided proof, though that will also take time to confirm."

Marco frowned as he took in the implications of what Namur had said. It appeared that he had initially been wrong about this group, which was nice, though their existence and admission to having an agenda worried him. It probably would until he figured out what exactly it was that the Card Deck wanted. Another realization left Marco reeling, though judging by the expressions on the others in the room, no one had yet realized it. "This poses several problems and not all of them are posed by Blackbeard." He said and the room turned its attention to him, while Marco in turn looked to Jinbe. "How is the Card Deck obtaining their information? Do you know?"

Jinbe simply shook his head no in answer to Marco's question.

Marco grimaced then continued on with his point. "We need to find out. As far as we know, Blackbeard has primarily been active in our area of the world, which means we have no idea how the Card Deck found out about Blackbeard in the first place. Rayuko has a point that the information may be coming from someone else who left the Enforcers but we need to keep looking to see if there is a spy in our midst. The reason that our search may have been unsuccessful could simply be because we were searching for the wrong thing. The spy, if there even is one, may not be spying for Blackbeard at all. He could be getting his information third hand and putting it together based upon his time with us. We also don't know what the Card Deck wants, though they have openly admitted to having an agenda that involves us. We don't know why they are attacking Blackbeard with such ferocity. I highly doubt that whatever debt they claim to owe us covers defending us from his attempts to take over our territory. If their claim that Teach is Blackbeard is true it would make sense that they would instead resent us for unknowingly harboring or producing someone they clearly despise."


	4. A Spoonful of Sugar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exposition Theater part 2: where Izo gets annoyed at Marco and Marco does not get to have a late lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters belong to their respective owners. I simply play with them for my, and your amusement.
> 
> Lookie Lookie guys! This one is on time! Thank you all for the magnificent reviews! They make me so happy! Anyways I hope this chapter answers some of the questions yall had for me after the last chapter was updated. This chapter's title comes from the Mary Poppins song, Just a spoon full of sugar. Also please dont hesitate to send me words/phrases/whatnot that ive used that dont make sense to you. I'll will definitely explain them.
> 
> Again so much thanks to Ktwontwo for betaing this for me. If yall like James Bond & Sherlock go check out their stuff. Its all phenomenal.
> 
> Just wanted to remind you all that this story was created for the OP 2016 Big Bang and as such there is amazing art created by the stupendous Idaida on tumblr! You can find the picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds

Marco didn’t really want to enumerate his next set of conclusions. Unfortunately, the rest of the group needed to be aware of them. He took a breath then continued. “This also means the lack of activity from Blackbeard is very serioius. We have no real way of knowing why he’s let off recently. It could be as we initially suspected that he is attempting to gain allies or has holed up waiting for the perfect time to strike. It could be that the Card Deck is destroying Blackbeard’s bases faster than he can start operations as they claim.” Marco waived a hand at Jimbi’s pile of paper.   He even could have stepped up his game and gotten sneakier to avoid detection. Hell for all we know it could even be a combination of any number of those reasons. This is highly problematic and we need to get off our collective rears and do something about it."

 

"I don’t know about the other options that you just brought to everyone’s attention Marco,” Izo said as he looked up from his continued reading, “but according to this we can definitely include gathering allies as a reason. According to Spade, Blackbeard is attempting to meet with the World Collective. He hypothesizes that it is probably in order to form some sort of alliance. "

 

Marco blinked in shock at that. He hadn’t thought it would have been possible for the mood in the room to turn any uglier but that simple statement certainly had several of his siblings seeing red. Many of the commanders had issues with the World Collective for a variety of reasons and Blackbeard, whoever he was, knew that very well. Many people did; it was by no means was it a secret. Hell, most people living in the Agvitatmaa had numerous issues with the Collective as well. It didn’t matter that the meeting was simply a rumor, the fact that such a rumor even existed only served to infuriate the group further. If Teach truly was Blackbeard then they had a problem. They knew, had known, Teach and he had known them. When he was committed he let nothing stand in his way. If his goal was Agvitatmaa’s destruction or Whitebeard’s death and he thought that he could use the World Collective to achieve it then he’d make them an ally regardless of any personal feelings on his part.

 

"We keep mentioning Spade and the Card Deck." Atmos said finally cutting through the angry grumbling. "But who are these people? Do we know anything concrete about them? For if this is all true, then regardless of their agenda we owe them a rather serious debt and I for one do not appreciate owing a group we know next to nothing about. ”

 

"Also, if people begin to make the connection that the Card Deck and the Fire Fist Gang appear to be one and the same along with the fact that they appear to be going after Blackbeard we will have even more problems.” Vista added. “People will definitely attempt to take advantage of that perceived debt.”

 

“True” Blamenco interjected. “So which do you think will cause more trouble? People claiming to be part of the Card Deck and that we owe them something or the idiots that will think we have weakened because we’re allowing another group to handle our problems for us?”

 

There were a couple of muffled snorts, as Blamenco’s words broke the tense atmosphere that had started to settle in the room. If people did start making those connections there would be a definite uptick in the number of people attempting to challenge them for control of some or all of the territory. Trouble was also perhaps the wrong word to use. All of the commanders and many of the Enforcers themselves would agree that it could get rather boring during cycles between people attempting to attack them. The last three months had been rather slow; even boring. Word getting out might provide some much-needed entertainment and stress relief. Unfortunately the way things were shaping up repelling such nuisance attacks might just be a needless waste of resources; weakening them enough to expose vulnerabilities. There was just no way to tell without more information and even then that might not do much. The future was undefined after all and anything could happen. _Oh the wonderful joys of playing defense_ Marco thought.

 

“I think we’ll get more annoyed with the latter first.” Jiru said after a moment’s consideration, “Those groups don’t vary much. They just like to come in and wave weapons around. None of them ever think of trying anything new.”

 

“I think the Card Deck is going to be more aggravating.” Fossa said “Because we’ll have to double check every single thing they do and if any people claiming to be a part of their group show up, we are going to have to find some way of confirming their identity and keep them under surveillance until we can do so. And that is only going to be made harder by the fact that we know almost nothing about these people.”

 

“That’s not entirely true.” Izo said at that moment, “There are a few concrete things we do know and other things that we can extrapolate from what Jinbe has said.”

 

“Like what?” Fossa demanded

 

“Well, we know for sure that there are at least three members of this group, one female and two males, one of whom is referred to as Spade. We also know that Spade is a User and his power has something to do with fire. We know that Spade is an expert hand-to-hand fighter and is competent with a knife as well. His companions are also experts with their own weapons. We know that they are incredibly good at gathering information, based on their ability to discover Blackbeard’s operations before us. We know that they are decent people and not heartless due to the fact that they decided to treat Jinbe and moved him so that he would be relatively safe after learning his identity. They also bothered to apologize for attacking him. From their name we can speculate that their group is a decent size, with potentially 56 members at the max if they stay true to their name as the Card Deck.”

 

Fossa looked thoughtful. “ You managed to get all of that simply from a few pieces of information? My apologies Izo. It appears I underestimated you. ”

 

Izo nodded in acceptance. “Save your praise. Its all conjecture so who knows how truthful it will turn out to be. More information would be helpful. Jinbe is there anything you might be able to contribute?”

 

Jinbe was silent for a moment. "I do not think I can help you with challengers or Blackbeard but I may be able to help in regards to the Card Deck.”

 

“How so?” Blenheim wanted to know.

 

“For one, I shall ask my informants to start asking around. Any information I get I’ll have them pass on to Izo. With a little memory work and a good artist I’ll be able to give you a much more detailed description of the people whom I encountered.”

 

“Will that cause problems between Méreins and the World Collective?” Namur asked.

 

“As I am here under the guise of seeking medical attention there is little the World Collective can do to the treaty.” Jinbe said with a sharks smile at the idea of pulling one over the World Collective. “The rest? Well what they do not know cannot hurt them. I for one certainly shall not be telling them.”

 

“Now just off the top of my head,” Jinbe continued, “the woman involved had straight black hair. She was pretty, slightly plump and rather on the short side, maybe five two at the tallest. Mid twenties to mid thirties in age and had a tattoo on the outside of her lower right thigh, just above the knee. I am not entirely sure but it appeared to be a Q with a heart in the middle. The man was tall with short hair and lanky build. He looks like he hadn't quite finished growing, but I would guess his age to be around early 30's regardless. He too had a tattoo though his was located upon his upper left bicep and it depicted a rather ornate K with a small diamond between the arm and the leg of the letter.” Jinbe paused for a moment, “I got a much better look at that one.”

 

“Spade himself looked to be the youngest, early twenties maybe, with slightly wavy black shoulder length hair. His tattoo was rather ornate and located on the upper two thirds of his left bicep. I didn’t get a good look at it as his sleeve mostly covered the design though I got the impression that it was writing, with one part crossed out. I couldn’t see well enough to determine anything more. All of the other details were obscured by the burgundy traveling coat he was wearing. The coat itself was not terribly fancy. It appeared to simply be the standard one from this area of the Border. The only additional detail that I noticed was that there was a stylized spade on his back. I believe that is where he takes his nickname. All three of them were rather soot streaked which along with the fire made it rather difficult to pick out more identifying details."

 

"No need for apologies Jinbe.” Thatch said, “That's more than enough. Especially the bit about the tattoos, anything else you can give us will be gravy."

 

"Indeed." Izo agreed looking up from where he had been frantically scribbling on a random piece of paper. "Tattoos are rather distinctive and hard to hide. I can work with this. And now we have possible names for the other two. Given that they go by the name the Card Deck and the one confirmed name we can assume that the tattoos denote their codenames and position in the group. Jinbie’s descriptions makes me thing that the man with the glaive is most likely The King of Diamonds while his female compatriot with the punching daggers is the Queen of Hearts. Since Jinbie didn’t get a good look at Spade’s Tattoo, we shall simply continue to call him Spade until we can figure out where he fits in their hierarchy." Izo stopped for a moment wrinkling his brow, “Although if the card numbers indicate the power or position in the group I suspect that Spade is another court card. The Jack or the King most likely.”

 

"So then the current plan of operation appears to be to keep an eye out for anyone matching the descriptions of the known members of the Card Deck and also keep an eye out for anyone who has any card based tattoos, because they may be a member of the gang as well?” Vista questioned

 

"Seems that way." Kingdew responded.

 

"What shall we do if we manage to find someone who we suspect belonging to the Card Deck?” Atmos asked, and the room turned to Marco who didn’t answer as he had fallen deep into thought. Something about Jinbe’s more detailed descriptions was bothering him, especially the one given for the King of Diamonds fellow. Had he run into the man before? He couldn’t remember and it would do no good to obsess over it. Either he would figure out what was bothering him about the description later or he wouldn’t. He gave a mental shrug and returned his attention back to the conversation, just as Whitebeard started to speak.

 

“Simply keep an eye out for them right now.” Whitebeard said, “If you are able discover and confirm someone is involved with the Card Deck, discreetly inquire what their motives are. Until we are able to discover that, there is not much that we can do.”

 

"All right.” Atmos said in agreement.

 

“What do you want us to do about Blackbeard, Pops?" Blamenco piped up

 

There was a silence as the room as Whitebeard thought. "No one should go after him alone.” He said finally. “If you learn anything involving him, bring it back here immediately. Be wary, my children. The Hunts have been reactivated for as of yet unknown reasons, and I fear Blackbeard may use this to recruit more Users if he can get to them before the Brass can. What levels of security protocols are currently active?"

 

The room turned to Marco and Jozu the two people most likely to know, though it was Jozu who spoke. "Current strategies, protocols, and security are all at Copper Fist level."

 

"That is what I thought." Whitebeard said, leaning back in his chair "Then from this moment on, I would like everyone to switch over to the Pirate King protocols"

 

The room erupted into a hubbub of murmurs as everyone realized what the sudden shift would mean. There would be no way for Teach to know about that set of protocols as they had last been employed before he had joined. In fact, they hadn’t been fully implemented for over 20 years. Not since Roger D. Gol and his friends still roamed the Border.

 

Marco turned to stare at their father with a multitude of questions in his eyes. Of anyone in the room, he probably knew the cost of those protocols the best. Did they really want to do this? Would it work? Were they absolutely sure that Teach didn't know about those plans? Whitebeard met his stare straight on and simply nodded.

 

"Alright Pops." Marco said with a shrug much to the confusion of the others in the room.

 

"Umm…" Haruta asked hesitantly, apparently confused albeit for an entirely different reason "The what protocols?"

 

Thatch chuckled slightly when more than a few of the other commanders turned to glare at him. Marco simply sighed. It looked like one of Thatch’s long-term pranks had just come into fruition and Marco didn’t know why he was so surprised. He had been the one to assign Thatch to teach Haruta the duties of the commanders when Haruta had been promoted. "Haruta" Thatch said, clearing his throat. "The Top Secret ones. The Pirate King protocols are the Top Secret protocols."

 

"Ohhhhhh!" Haruta exclaimed

 

"Is that all?" Jozu asked, moving to stand. "Implementing those will take some time and I would like to get started soon." There was a mummer of agreement, but before anyone could leave Marco spoke.

 

"Unfortunately that isn’t all. I have something that you all need to hear. And it makes everything infuriatingly more complicated."

 

"What now?" Vista asked and Marco placed the papers that he had been carrying onto the table.

 

"The civil war in Nefertari is over." Marco proclaimed rather solemnly.

 

Silence met his proclamation, then someone started chuckling which quickly set the whole room off. Marco looked to Whitebeard who was smiling slightly but Marco could see the patience and worry in his father’s eyes. At least he understood that Marco wouldn’t randomly attempt to scare everyone like that. " Geeze Marco. Getting us all worried about your news, when its actually rather good information." Thatch said, slapping Marco's back to which Marco just rolled his eyes and Whitebeard’s grin grew larger.

 

"Yes, its good news that the war has stopped but it's the rest of the information that has me worried." Marco returned, slightly annoyed

 

"There's more?" Thatch asked confused.

 

"There's a lot more."

 

"Right then, sorry. What's up?"

 

"According to this leaked _official report_ ," Marco said tapping a small pile of papers in front of him "The Straw-hats started the rebellion, took out the hero of Nefertari Territory, Sir Nil Crocodile, and were chased out of the Territory by a newly arriving fleet of Brass, who had returned as an escort to the missing princess, then were able to stop the rebellion and save the day."

 

"That sounds like a rather plausible story. I don't see why you look worried." Blamenco commented.

 

Marco smiled grimly. "This set of intelligence," he said gesturing to the other pile of papers. "Also says the civil war in Nefertari is over. That is perhaps the only agreement with the _official report_. The most important difference however is the allegation that Nefertari government is making arrangements to leave the World Collective."

 

A shocked silence occurred as the implications sunk in. It was broken rather suddenly when Curiel asked, "What the fuck?"

 

"I suddenly see why you were worried." Thatch muttered under his breath.

 

"Has the world gone mad?" Vista wondered echoing Marco’s thoughts from earlier.

 

Marco had no doubt the rest of the room felt the same.

 

Well, not all of them Marco realized when Namur spoke up, "Good for them. Does your _unofficial_ intelligence say why?"

 

"Yes it does," Marco said looking down at the pile to ensure he passed on the correct information. "Sir Nil Crocodile, the World Collective appointed administrator, was the mastermind behind the civil war. He was using it as an attempt to dispose of the royal family and take control of the territory without loosing the support of the public or the World Collective. The Straw-hat Vandals rescued the missing princess and escorted her back, defeating Sir Crocodile as a side project. The World Collective is desperately trying to cover this all up by promoting the Captain of the Brass who apparently had chased the Straw-hats into Nefertari in the first place."

 

Marco stopped speaking for a moment to _hm_ softly to himself, tapping a finger on top of his papers. "Oh, and the reason that the Hunts have been reactivated was because the Devil's child, Robin Nico had been sighted in Nefertari's Alabasta Desert. Unfortunately for the Brass who had been sent to apprehend her she managed to escape. It is unknown where she is now as there are conflicting reports of her escaping back to the Alabasta Desert, leaving the Nefertari Territory entirely and heading into the Border or joining forces with the Straw Hats who disappeared into the Border between Jaya and the Nefertari territory. My source thinks that the Straw Hats are headed towards Jaya and the Abyss because they are looking for the entrance to Skypeia, though they were unable to confirm that last rumor. Yes?" he asked looking at the rest of the commanders in the room, most of who were openly gaping.

 

"How the hell do you do that?" Thatch said finally

 

"Do what?" Marco inquired

 

"Deliver news that drastic with a straight face!" Thatch proclaimed

 

"Get that information for one." Izo demanded to know simultaneously.

 

"I have a source." Marco responded, ignoring Thatch's outburst

 

"Who is your source? How do we know that we can trust them?" Izo questioned

 

"Does it matter?" Marco asked. He was rather hesitant to reveal his source, as it would reveal that he was often in contact with perhaps the most secretive and exclusive information broker in the world.

 

"Teach might be Blackbeard. Any and all passed on information is currently suspect!" Izo reminded the room sharply. "Yes it matters!"

 

Marco winced. He didn't want to reveal his source, but Izo had a point. He could only hope that his family wouldn't try to take advantage of this. His source was more than a source. He was a friend of sorts and he wanted to keep it that way. "Look," Marco said, hesitant and mildly annoyed "Royal Blue owed me a favor alright?"

 

"You know Royal Blue?" Izo gaped while Marco just hummed an affirmative. He supposed that he could understand his brother’s reaction. Royal Blue, or Blue as Marco tended to call him, was a legend in both the underworld and the information communities. His information was almost always correct and if it was dodgy he either didn’t pass it on or he labeled it as such. In the rare instance where he didn't know or couldn’t find out he was often able to point you in the right direction. Interestingly enough for a man of his reputation it was rumored that he never lied. If he didn't want to tell someone something, he simply wouldn't and no amount of questioning, pleading, begging, or threatening would get him to change his mind. No one knew who he was either. Despite having actually met the man in person several times and their friendly relationship he still didn’t know Royal Blue’s true identity or any of his other aliases.

 

“More importantly” Izo demanded, and Marco looked back at his brother, “you know how to get in touch with Royal Blue?"

 

"Yes." Marco said simply.

 

"What the hell Marco?” Izo was almost yelling by now and Marco could see the amusement on the faces of everyone else in the room. At least this was causing them to not stress about the bombshells that had been dropped over the course of the afternoon. “Why didn't anyone else know about this?” Izo continued, “We could have used this!"

 

"That's why. Blue is a friend of sorts and it wasn't that important. Besides, its not like nobody at all knew.”

 

“What?” Izo demanded, outraged.

 

“Pops knew." Marco said, placing his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair.

 

Izo whirled to look at their father, who was also trying valiantly to hide his amusement, with a look of betrayal on his face. "Pops!"

 

Marco smiled slightly as well. Seeing Izo all riled up was fun, but why where all of his siblings so over dramatic? "Anyways,” he said, drawing Izo’s attention once again, “Blue happened to be in the area so I asked him if he would let me know what was going on."

 

"It wasn't important?" Izo sputtered "You’re, and I quote, friends of sorts with Royal Blue, one of the best information brokers in the world and you claim that it's not important?!"

 

"It wasn’t." Marco said his face schooled back to his normal placid expression. "And that was all of the news I had, so unless anyone else has anything to add I would recommend we follow Jozu's advice. The Pirate King protocols need to be reviewed, updated and then implemented and we need to train everyone in them."

 

"Does anyone have anything else to add?" Whitebeard asked. When no one spoke, he continued "Then off with you. Come see me if parts of the protocols are no longer useable or valid. Jinbie would you like to stay any longer to recuperate some more? If so we need to figure out what to say so that you can assure the World Collective for the reason behind your presence. Namur, will you help Jinbie with that? Marco, stay please. There are some things we have to discuss."

 

Marco turned to look at his father, a question on his lips but the apologetic look Whitebeard leveled at him stopped Marco short while the rest of his siblings and Jinbie trickled out of the room. He had intended to slip out to The S’andwich Bar this afternoon. That was no longer an option. Marco suspected that his father had known of his plans but the problems revealed by the new information would take time to sort out. Pops wouldn’t appreciate him shirking his duties in such a situation.

 

His suspicions were confirmed when Whitebeard continued, "Namely, we need to figure out how to include the second division into this."

 

"Alright Pops."

 

"I am sorry, son."

 

Marco shook his head slightly at the apology as he readjusted his papers and moved closer to his father; taking the seat that Jinbie had vacated moments before. "Its not a problem, Pops. It'll be there tomorrow.”

 

“Yes, but you have other reasons behind going to that sandwich shop you like, don’t you?” Whitebeard teased.

 

Marco huffed, but smiled. He may enjoy withholding information about his possible romantic entanglements from his siblings, but he had never managed to do so from his father. “I do, but I'm not sure that whatever that is, is going anywhere anyway. You’re my family and this is more important right now."

 

Whitebeard frowned slightly at that last bit. Marco, for the life in him could not figure out what he said that might have caused it. Finally after a long moment Whitebeard spoke again. "Whatever your relationship is, don't neglect it. It makes you happy, and nothing is more important that your happiness, son." With that said, Whitebeard turned to the papers. "Now, do you have any suggestions on how to incorporate the Second Division into the Pirate King protocols seeing as they are effectively without a leader and you will be spending even more time with your division?”


	5. Friendly Jabs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we return to awkward flirting, the unfortunate timing of siblings, and a noodle incident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one is so late, but its still the weekend in my corner of the world so Im going to say that I made my two week max deadline.
> 
> Again, thank you to the magnificent Ktwontwo for betaing this for me. If yall like James Bond & Sherlock go check out their stuff. Its all phenomenal.
> 
> Just wanted to remind you all that this story was created for the OP 2016 Big Bang and as such there is amazing art created by the stupendous Idaida on tumblr! You can find the picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds

Four days. It had taken a full four long tiring days before Marco finally had enough free time to make a visit to Outskirts. The process of reviewing the Pirate King Protocols, making the changes in the second division to match then briefing the appropriate parties and overseeing the implementation had been tedious and taken much longer than Marco had expected.

 

It was a rather gloomy day, with clouds billowing overhead threatening to drop rain on him at any moment. He could hear the rumble of thunder far off in the distance and it was drawing closer by the moment. Absently he wondered where the lightning was, but those thoughts were quickly pushed out of his mind when the skies did as they had threatened to all afternoon and unleashed a torrential downpour. Cursing under his breath, Marco dashed for the awning of the building that had been his goal.

 

Warm light poured through the windows giving the entire building a rather inviting feel. Marco yanked opened the door and entered. He had just stepped inside when something hit his head, limiting his field of vision rather severely. Marco reacted almost instantaneously whipping whatever had covered his head off in surprise. It took a second for him to realize that he’d been “attacked” by a rather soft towel. Marco scowled at the piece of fabric in momentary confusion to the sound of rather distinctive laughter. He looked up and realized the room was empty, save for Ace who had half collapsed on top of the counter.

 

Ace was looking at him and trying unsuccessfully to rein in his chuckles. "Man." He gasped, "You should have seen your face. Now dry yourself off while I get you your sandwich. You're dripping on my floor."

 

Marco let out a chuckle himself, as he attempted to dry himself off as best he could. "Well," he said, "I'm glad you're amused. I certainly wasn't expecting to be attacked by a towel the moment I walked through your door." Marco frowned at the now wet towel he was holding. "Speaking of, what do you want me to do with this?"

 

"Eh, just put it on one of the hooks by the door. If anyone else comes in they'll need it."

 

Marco nodded then made his way over to the counter. "So, do you normally attack just anyone with towels as they walk through the door wet?"

 

“Nope!” Ace grinned, "Just you!"

 

"I feel so special."

 

"As you should." Ace said handing a plate with a sandwich on it over to Marco who simply set it down on the counter while he waited for Ace to make his own sandwiches. "By yourself today?"

 

"Yeah." Ace said with a slight frown.

 

Given the conversation thus far, that expression certainly didn't belong on Ace’s face Marco decided. He thought it worth attempting to determine the cause. "Is something wrong with David and Marie? Or any of the people who work the Bar shift?"

 

"Nope. Nothing’s wrong. Well not anything drastic. David's got a horrific cold so Marie is making sure that he actually rests and doesn't try to come in or do anything strenuous. The guys on the night shift are fine. Most of them are just off today.”

 

“Any reason?” Marco asked.

 

“I don't particularly want anyone trying to get here in this weather. Although I stay open for those who get caught out in it."

 

"Like myself." Marco commented.

 

Ace's smile returned, "Like yourself."

 

"It’s just a bit of rain,” Marco remarked relieved to see his friend smile. "What's so bad about it?"

 

Ace shot him an undecipherable look. "Out here the weather can turn really nasty at the drop of a hat."

 

"Ah." Marco said, picking up his sandwich and following his friend towards the register, which Ace bypassed entirely. "Ace?" he questioned.

 

"Don't worry about it Marco. It’s on me." Ace said, nudging Marco with his shoulder before moving towards the front of the store as opposed to their normal seat. Marco blinked at him. Apparently he was being treated to lunch.

 

"So," Marco said, joining his friend at their window table "Any particular reason for the change in seating arrangements?"

 

Ace shrugged. "I like watching storms. Any particular reason you haven't been by in the past four days?" he countered teasingly.

 

"Sorry," Marco apologized, his regret at not being able to come by sooner true even if what he was about to tell Ace wasn’t. "The trading company that I work for discovered a former employee had gotten away with doing some rather nasty things which resulted a change in a lot of policies. It also generated a lot of paperwork and confusion that I had to sort through. Does that mean you missed me?"

 

"Maybe" Ace said.

 

"Maybe, hmm?" Marco replied.

 

There was a moment of silence as the two men studied each other. Ace's smirk grew slightly wider as he took a bite of his own sandwich and Marco's eyes glinted joyfully.

 

“Mmmhmm.” Ace said through a mouthful of food. He swallowed before continuing “Maybe indeed.”

 

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Marco inquired

 

“See, that’s for me to know and for you to find out.” Ace said teasingly.

 

"And what exactly would I have to do in order for you to tell me?" Marco practically purred repeating the question that Ace had initially asked him when he had first returned a little over a week and a half ago which had made David demand that they stop flirting. To his delight, Ace's eyes grew wide and a slight flush suddenly dusted his cheeks. Well, that was certainly telling if nothing else was. Whatever Ace was thinking of, Marco had no doubt that it would be interesting. Deciding to push his luck a little more Marco stretched back in his chair and said, "I'm waiting…"

 

He never got to hear Ace's answer for at that very moment there was a clap of thunder and the lights went out.

 

"Shit!" Ace cursed, and Marco heard him get up from the table.

 

As his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness, he watched Ace pick his way through the tables and chairs towards the counter. Marco was treated to a very nice view of Ace's rear end while Ace bent over the bar and fished around for something underneath the counter in the dark. It wasn't very long before a noise of triumph came from the bar. Moments later, the room lightened slightly as Ace returned to the table with a pair of lit candles.

 

"I take it this happens often then?" Marco inquired dryly, the teasing mood from earlier gone.

 

"Often enough when it rains" Ace said returning to his sandwich.

 

Marco hummed softly in acknowledgement but didn't say anything. Marco wasn't willing to jeopardize the first thing that had allowed him to relax in days just quite yet so he turned to study the storm outside the window.

 

The two of them sat for a bit eating their respective sandwiches in the candlelight. It was nice and comfortable. If you really thought about it the atmosphere was downright romantic.

 

"Well" Marco finally said speaking softly and watching Ace out of the corner of his eye.

 

Ace’s reaction was interesting. He appeared to become suddenly downcast immediately after Marco had spoken. Suddenly it hit him. Ace's mood from was due to loneliness. He thinks I'm about to say I have to leave, Marco realized.

 

"I for one, don't particularly fancy walking back in that," He said nodding to the storm that was still going strong. A rather hopeful expression took up residence in Ace's face, as Marco continued, "Mind if I stick around till it blows over?"

 

"Not at all!" Ace beamed and Marco chuckled.

 

"That lonely eh?"

 

Ace sighed and slouched onto the table. "It’s not so much loneliness as it is boredom, but you have no idea," he muttered. "When it’s like this there's no one to talk to and nothing to do. I can only play so many different variations of solitaire before I start to lose my mind."

 

"You have a mind left to lose?" A new voice asked wryly, as the candles flared then flickered seemingly reacting to the new presence in the room.

 

Both men tensed and turned to see where it was coming from, surprised to realize it was coming from the doorway. Neither of them had seen anyone approach the building through the window or heard the door open. The lack of light made it hard to identify what the figure was doing, but by all appearances he was drying himself off. Curious, Marco turned to watch as the figure shrunk six inches or so, by removing what had initially appeared to be his head. He had a hat then, Marco realized, though his confusion grew as the figure approached. He knew this person, though without a good look at the other's face he wouldn't be able to say how.

 

"I thought you’d lost it long ago." The figure continued snagging a chair from another table and carrying it toward theirs. Turning towards Ace in an attempt to figure out if the stranger was a threat, Marco stared as Ace relaxed then smiled at the figure that was now joining them.

 

"Oh shut up," Ace countered though there was no bite to the statement. In fact to Marco's surprise it sounded rather fond. "Like you're any better."

 

"Excuse you. I am so much better," The other retorted his voice emulating an upper class snob. "Who's your friend?" he asked setting his chair down at the end of their table and coming completely into view for the first time.

 

Marco propped his head on one hand and turned his head in a rather birdlike manner only to blink in surprise at the person who had just sat down. That person looked equally shocked to see him sitting there. Interesting. Now the question was, how did he know Ace?

 

"Oh, right," Ace said grinning at the both of them. "Marco, meet my brother Sabo. Sabo, meet my friend Marco. He's a merchant scout."

 

There was the sound of choked laughter as the man who Marco knew as Royal Blue attempted to control his emotions. "We've met,” He said dryly. "I wasn't aware the two of you were related though. This certainly explains some things."

 

Giggles apparently under control Sabo grinned. "Hiya Marco. Nice to see you again."

 

"Wait, wait, wait, you two know each other?" Ace exclaimed in surprise.

 

"Worse" Marco said with a smile at Ace's confusion.

 

"Worse?" Ace repeated looking from his friend to his brother as if he were unsure if he truly wanted to hear this.

 

"We're friends." Sabo said with a smile.

 

"What?" Ace pouted. "You two suck."

 

Marco and Sabo exchanged a look. "Why?" Marco finally asked.

 

"Because I wanted to introduce the two of you and it turns out that you both know each other already."

 

"You wanted us to meet?" Marco repeated rather confused, while Sabo's eyes grew huge in some sort of understanding.

 

"No way," He breathed out.

 

Marco was instantly wary. He had seen that particular mixture of glee, pride and realization in his own brother's faces often enough to know that Sabo had determined something incredibly embarrassing about Ace. From the corresponding horror filled expression Ace had also realized that he had just handed his brother prime sibling blackmail material.

 

"Don't you dare!" Ace growled at his brother who looked entirely too delighted by whatever he had just discovered.

 

"Dare what?" Sabo questioned. "Say that you…" he was cut off as Ace lunged across the table at his brother to clap a hand over his mouth.

 

Sabo was laughing as he leaned the chair back attempting to avoid the hand. Avoiding his brother’s lunge tipped the chair back slightly too far and Marco could see the moment that both Ace and Sabo realized the precarious nature of their situation. Both Ace and Sabo attempted to correct their position, Ace pulling back while Sabo tried to stand up but it was too late. The chair wobbled before crashing to the floor taking Sabo with it.

 

Startled laughter erupted from all both Ace and Marco only to be cut off suddenly when Sabo’s, "Shit, owww," wafted up from the floor.

 

Marco peered over the table to find Sabo clutching at his arm a dark growing stain visible beneath his fingers where there hadn't been one moment before.

 

"Shit!" Ace exploded. "You're bleeding!"

 

"Really?" Sabo said dryly not moving, “I hadn't noticed."

 

"How bad?" Ace asked starting to kneel at his brother’s side.

 

Sabo hummed contemplatively. "Worse than I had thought. I’m probably going to need the stuff we used to use when Gramps came to visit."

 

"That bad?" Ace asked as he reversed action, standing and headed towards the back of the bar. He went to a door that Marco had never seen open before.

 

"Not quite, but close," Sabo offered, finally attempting to get up off of the floor.

 

"Right," Ace said pulling open the door to reveal a staircase.

 

Marco presumed that it lead up to the living quarters. He’d always known Ace lived above the bar but had never realized that there was an inside access point. There was an outside staircase at the back of the building and Marco had assumed that it was the only entrance to the upper stories.

 

"Marco make sure he doesn't do anything else stupid while I get the first aid kit," Ace ordered in a tone that brooked no argument. Marco blinked at the tone. Ace was full of surprises. That was not the voice of a concerned sibling or even an ordinary bartender. It was practically a command voice Marco realized.

 

"Sure," Marco acknowledged looking over at Sabo who had by this time levered himself into Ace's vacant seat.

 

The moment Ace was out of sight and earshot Marco turned to face Sabo fully.

 

"Blue." he said keeping his normal placid expression.

 

"Phoenix," Sabo returned the acknowledgement just as seriously. Sabo managed to hold the serious expression for several seconds before a sudden spurt of laughter ruined it. "Merchant scout? Seriously?"

 

"It works." Marco retorted with a small shrug.

 

"It works?" Sabo gaped. "Elsewhere, sure. But you're telling me that this close to your own territory such a flimsy cover works?"

 

"Well enough," Marco said leaning back in his chair the very picture of nonchalance and disinterest. "No one here appears to know who I am and I would like to thank you for keeping it that way."

 

Sabo shrugged. "I didn’t know until just now and I wasn’t planning on spilling the beans. Ace really has no idea who you are?"

 

"As far as I know. It's rather nice actually. "

 

"I can only imagine."

 

"So how have you been? What trouble have you gotten yourself into since Nefertari? Thank you for that information by the way."

 

"Eh, no problem. I was in the area and a debt is a debt.”

 

“I truly appreciate it.”

 

“As I said, not a problem.”

 

Marco nodded in acquiescence all the while he was debating with himself. He hadn’t wanted to reveal that Blue was his informant to his family. It would have been all too easy for them to pressure him to abuse what had developed over the years into a friendly relationship. Nonetheless he was seriously contemplating asking for some sensitive information just after learning his true identity. The real name of Royal Blue was something that would be worth millions in certain quarters and he was sure Sabo knew it. Asking for what he needed might be construed as a request to buy his silence on the matter. He could only hope that Sabo would realize that Marco wasn’t trying to take advantage of their friendship or his newfound information of Sabo’s identity.

 

“Ey, Marco,” Sabo’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Marco looked up. “You look like you’ve got something serious bouncing around in that head of yours. Mind sharing?”

 

The similarities to Ace’s normal manner of questioning were rather amusing and Marco chuckled much to Sabo’s apparent confusion. “You two are definitely related,” He said softly.

 

“Ok, I take it I’m missing something here.”

 

Marco chuckled again. “You are. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“I hadn’t planned on it,” Sabo returned. “And stop trying to change the subject. What’s got you tying yourself up in knots?”

 

Marco sighed, “Seriously, you and your brother are very alike. It’s not important. I was going to ask you to look into something for me but you’ve obviously just got back and you’re injured.”

 

Sabo blinked in confusion “And what do either of those things have to do with anything?”

 

Marco shrugged. “Well, I know that you gather most of your information yourself and like I said, you are injured so I figured that you probably don’t want to leave for a while. I also don’t want to impose or make you feel obligated to do anything …”

 

Sabo chuckled. “I’ve got more than one way to find out whatever it is that you need Marco. You happen to be a friend first and a business connection second so don’t worry about making me feel obligated. If I don’t want to do it, I won’t. Simple as that. So what are you looking for?”

 

“Information of course. Two different subjects.  First, there’s a guy who goes by Blackbeard. I basically want to know what he’s been up to these past three months. Second, there’s a group running around that calls themselves The Card Deck. I suspect they are the same group that the WC has labeled the Fire Fist Gang. I want to know what their main goal is and if you can find their primary information source.”

 

Sabo tapped his fingers against his chin as he contemplated the request. “Sure,” He said after a pause. “It might take a few days though.”

 

“The fact that you’re agreeing to look into it at all takes a weight off of my mind.” Marco said leaning back in his chair. “Seriously though what drastic world catastrophes have you gotten yourself into since I saw you last? It must have been something large to cause you that level of injury.”

 

Sabo just grinned, “It’s a bit of a story and if you don’t mind I’m going to wait to tell it.” He grinned, “You’re not going to have to wait long though. Once Ace gets back with the medicine I’ll fill you in. It will make all of this easier if I tell you both at once."

 

"Ace knows what you do?"

 

"Yeah and he's going to want an explanation for these injuries anyways. You know the drill with overprotective older brothers."

 

"Who's an overprotective older brother?" Ace spoke up as he crossed the floor with a decent sized medicine chest in hand.

 

Sabo just grinned unrepentantly, "You are but it's ok. Luffy and I love you anyways."

 

"Shut up, Sabo," Ace growled as he flushed red. He shot Marco an apologetic look before returning his attention to the chest. "Shirt off now"

 

"Bossy, bossy," Sabo teased wincing as he moved to comply.

 

"Need a hand?" Marco offered.

 

Ace gave an aborted headshake that appeared to Marco as a conflict between an initial instinct to refuse and a serious consideration the offer.

 

"Sure," He finally said handing Marco the box he was carrying. "Mind handing me crap?"

 

"If I did I wouldn't have offered." Marco replied.

 

A snickering noise that ended in a soft ow drew the pair's attention to Sabo who had finally succeeded in getting his shirt off. Marco let out a low whistle in surprise at the extent of the damage that he could see. Sabo's back was to them, giving Marco a relatively unhampered look at the extent of some of his injuries. Large mottled bruises covered nearly every inch on his back save for the left shoulder, which was already covered by a rather nasty burn scar. Marco guessed the scar was rather old due to the lack of reaction it garnered. In the flickering candlelight, he also thought he could make out a darker than normal blot that might have been a tattoo of some sort on his other shoulder blade. It appeared to be some sort of a plant, a clover if he wasn’t mistaken, framed by a familiar and intricate decorative border but Sabo turned around before Marco could make out any of the fine details or figure out where he had seen it before. The injuries on Sabo's torso were worse than those on his back and had a rather distinct pattern to them as if Sabo had been beaten or tortured. Tape on his side implied at least cracked, if not outright broken, ribs and his arms were littered with numerous and badly bandaged cuts. Marco glanced over at Ace who had also apparently recognized the bruising pattern and was slowly starting to anger as the extent of the damage sunk in.

 

"Breath Ace," Sabo said in a somewhat plaintive tone, "I'm fine, it’s fine, everything is OK. The people who did this they're all dead."

 

Ace took a breath and let his head hang for a moment clearly attempting to regain control of his temper. Finally he smiled wryly although the anger was still present and lurking under the surface along with a hefty dose of worry. "If you keep coming back like this, I'm going to have to have a talk with your friends about stopping you from doing reckless shit or come with you myself. Disinfectant please," was addressed to Marco

 

"You're worse!" Sabo retorted. Marco stayed silent handing Ace the little spray bottle he needed. "You forget that I also see the injuries that you manage to receive often enough. Speaking of, are you OK? David told me about what happened last weeeEEK…" Sabo said with sudden yelp, and glared at his brother. "That stings. A little warning next time?"

 

Marco could hear Ace's grin. "Nah. Seriously, with the amount of times this happens one would think that you would be used to this by now."

 

"So what happened last week?" Marco asked, passing over a bandage without being asked. Ace took it but was silent for a moment.

 

"Couple of idiots came in for some drinks then proceeded to start a fight. They thought they'd be able to slip out without paying." Ace said finally. "It turned into an all-out brawl and I took a couple of hits that looked worse than they really were. I'm fine. Overprotective mother hens." He grumbled, as he sprayed disinfectant on the next cut while Sabo squirmed.

 

"You really aren't good with disinfectant, are you?" Marco said chuckling, passing over another bandage while his instincts were screaming that something wasn't right here. The Border was harsh and bars did often have their fair share of troublemakers so a bar fight was not out of the question but there was something strange about Ace's story. Marco suspected he probably wasn't being told the truth and most likely would not be told even if he asked directly so he pushed it aside. Instead he opted for changing the topic to something safer. It appeared Ace was thinking along similar lines, a fact which Marco wasn’t sure if he should be thankful for or not for it simply confirmed that Ace’s story was suspicious and his friend had something to hide.

"You went to see David?" Ace asked Sabo holding his hand out for yet another bandage, "How's his cold?"

 

"He's doing alright,” Sabo said. "Should be completely over it and ready to come back and help within the next couple of days."

 

"Good," Ace said, stepping back to give his brother a once over. "I suppose you're right. This really isn't that much worse than normal. Bruise cream please."

 

"What kind of trouble do the two of you get yourselves into that you consider this normal?" Marco wondered aloud, handing Ace a jar of cream simply labeled Bruise Balm.

 

"Eh, nothing too exciting just your usual run of the mill stuff for a couple of Boarder squatters," Sabo said grin wide even as he shivered slightly from the combination of the air and cool cream that his brother had started to apply.

 

Marco raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Somehow he doubted that very much, seeing as Sabo was Royal Blue there was no way anything he was involved in was normal. On the other hand, he really didn't want to think about that because that would involve figuring out what exactly about Ace's story bothered him and prying into whatever Ace was involved in.

 

"Right. So what “run of the mill stuff” were you doing?"

 

If anything Sabo's grin grew wider as it did when he had quite the tale to tell. "Well, I was in Hitofumei because I…"

 

“Oh, for the love of…” Ace exclaimed cutting Sabo off, “You didn’t!”

 

“I did!” Sabo replied with a chuckle that was just shy of a giggle.

 

“Why?” Ace complained though to Marco it appeared more amused than anything else and he wondered just what exactly Sabo had done. “I’m never going to be able to stop you from doing that am I?” Ace asked Sabo as he recapped the Balm and placed it back into the medicine box on the table. A quick smile of thanks was shot Marco’s way as Ace picked up the fallen chair and spun it around so that he was sitting on it backwards but still facing the table.

 

“Nope!” Sabo said overly delighted for no apparent reason, causing Ace to glare at his brother suspiciously and Marco chuckled under his breath at the pair’s antics, which for some reason only served to increase Sabo’s random delight. Ace turned his head to send him a questioning look to see if he knew why Sabo was being so weird but Marco just shrugged. He had no clue as to what Sabo apparently found so funny and Ace shook his head in fond exasperation before pointing at the half of sandwich that he hadn’t gotten to finish.

 

“Either eat that or hand it over.” Ace said

 

Sabo looked shocked “Are you giving me part of your lunch?”

 

Ace’s expression remained the same. “Do you want it or not?”

 

“Imma eat the sandwich,” Sabo said, peering at his brother “But seriously are you ok? Marco, is he sick? He never gives anyone but Luffy his food. And even that doesn’t happen often.” Sabo said

 

Marco raised an eyebrow as Ace reddened but decided not comment on the fact that Ace had apparently decided to treat him to lunch today. He wasn’t going to mention it until he knew exactly what that meant. “I don’t think so.” Marco said finally and Ace huffed.

 

“I’m not sick.” He said crossing his arms and settling them on the back of the chair. The movement caused his shirtsleeves to slip up a little, giving Marco an unhindered look at the bottom half of Ace’s tattoo. Studying it for a moment, Marco suddenly knew why he had recognized part of Sabo’s. The border for Ace’s tattoo, whatever it was, was exactly the same as the one that had surrounded Sabo’s tattoo. Ah, Marco realized. The tattoos were a family thing, much like the ones he and his own siblings all sported.

 

“Right” Ace said once he was apparently comfortable. “Other than doing the thing which I always request that you don’t do whenever you’re in that area, what exactly happened on this trip of yours? Because I distinctly remember you saying that this would be an easy trip.”

 

“But it was easy” Sabo protested and Marco glanced out the window, checking the weather. The rain was still falling though Marco wasn’t really sure one could even call it rain at this point as it was more like mist than anything else. He knew that he would have to leave soon but a glance back at his companions, at Ace in particular, made him reconsider. Ace had noticed him checking the weather and while he clearly wasn’t lonely anymore there was something in his expression that was requesting that Marco stay.

 

Marco considered his options for a moment but his mind had apparently already made itself up without him being any the wiser. Marco gave Ace a small smile that was returned as he settled himself more comfortably in his chair. He would definitely have to leave once Sabo had finished his story but he wanted to hear this and he wasn’t quite ready to deal with the insanity of his family yet again. “Well?” Marco asked. “Ace isn’t the only one who wants to hear this story you know.”

 

Sabo chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. Right, so I was in Hitofumei and I had just learned about a Toilet factory”

 

Marco blinked in confusion “A toilet factory? Why would that be anything worth investigating?”

 

“World Collective base.” Ace offered by way of explanation “Usually swarming with Brass and often assist in training.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Anyway” Sabo said with a mock glare, “I heard about it and was in the area so I decided to check it out and then…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you all think of this. Reviews make my day and in the end this will turn out to be the longest thing that Ive ever written and Id really like feedback.


	6. There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn what Sabo's really been up to, what Luffy's been up to, and Ace runs errands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hopefully you all are keeping cool as the summer starts, and staying warm if winter is starting to pick up where you are. And look its not the last minute for this update either. I don't know about yall, but I feel rather accomplished. Now, lets see with this chapter I think I'm maybe 1/3 of the way of the story? Approximately anyways. And I just want to thank you all for the reviews and the kudos. They mean a lot to me because it means that you've stuck with me for this long and I cant thank you enough for that. I hope yall continue to let me know what you think about this story. I really appreciate it. 
> 
> Again, thank you to the magnificent Ktwontwo for betaing this for me. If yall like James Bond & Sherlock go check out their stuff. Its all phenomenal.
> 
> This story was created for the OP 2016 Big Bang and as such there is amazing art created by the stupendous Idaida on tumblr! You can find the picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds

“So what really happened?" Ace said from the table as he once again stuffed his face full of food while Sabo puttered around the small apartment kitchen assembling the things to make tea.

They were just the two of them in the living quarters above the bar because Marie had wandered in not more than five minutes after Marco had departed. She said David was being a right wanker, which Ace had mentally translated as _David kicked her out because she was being too much of a mother hen_.

"I told you." Sabo said frowning at his brother, who simply rolled his eyes in return.

"And I know you." Ace said. "There is no way you would have been gone that long or come back that injured if you only went to Hitofumei. Something else happened. Not sure why you didn't want Marco to know, but spill."

"Marco doesn't know about who you are right?"

"No. As far as I know he has no idea."

"And you did pass on the packet of information right?"

"Yeah. Days ago, why?"

"Because until today, Marco only knew me as Royal Blue and not as your brother.”

“And?”

“And the last thing he asked me about was for some information on Blackbeard and the Card Deck. It makes things complicated. I can’t pass on any detailed information because he’ll realize that Royal Blue already had the information about the Card Deck despite not being in the area for months or that I’m already investigating Blackbeard. To make matters worse I can’t give him a half-assed job because he knows me too well and knows I wouldn’t tarnish my reputation that way. Determining exactly what I give him is going to be tricky especially since we don’t want him figure out who you are. From what little he said, the Enforcers still don’t know if they should be calling us friend or foe. If I can manage to keep from blowing your cover he won’t have to worry about how we’re connected to this whole mess. If he finds out, well then you are going to have a lot of questions to answer older brother."

"Why would he," Ace interrupted as he brushed by Sabo to place his dirty dishes in the sink, “have questions that is?”

Sabo blinked at him. Was his brother serious? Was Marco correct and Ace was really not aware of Marco's identity? Well, there was only one way to find out. "You do know who he is right?"

"Who?"

"Marco."

Ace snorted. "Of course I do. Living this close to Agvitatmaa , it’s kinda hard not to. And besides." An involuntary grin spread across his face. “Have you heard his 'cover'? It’s ridiculous."

Sabo snorted in amusement and agreement, "Merchant Scout? Who does he think he's kidding?"

"I don't know. It seems to work well enough for him not to abandon it and get a new one. Anyway what can't Marco know that you’ve discovered?" Ace asked as he returned to the table stealing Sabo's cup of tea on the way past.

"Blackbeard approached the Collective and actually managed to enter negotiations with them. A week ago when I sent you that information, it was a rumor. Blackbeard hadn’t managed to actually get a meeting with them but it was pretty clear that he was trying desperately to. Now it’s a fact. The negotiations are going on as we speak. I don’t know what he’s trying to get from the Collective exactly but whatever it is, it’s big and if he succeeds no one is going to like the results."

Ace grimaced. "How much does the Coalition dislike Whitebeard that they are willing to cozy up to that monster?"

"Apparently more that we realized." Sabo said stealing back his tea then sitting opposite to Ace.

Silence returned to the room and Ace grabbed a deck of cards from his pocket and set about shuffling them. Sabo snuck a glance at his brother over the rim of his reclaimed teacup. Apparently satisfied with that Ace had moved on from shuffling the deck and it now lay next to him on the table. As Sabo watched, he grabbed the top four cards and was balancing them against each other to make a small square.

"Sooo" Sabo began.

Ace glanced over at him from where he was placing another two cards against the square creating another square. Two more cards followed creating another and then another. Slowly the card construction under his brother's careful fingers started to expand.

"You and Marco, huh?"

Ace groaned and refocused his efforts on the card construction in front of him. Maybe if he just ignored Sabo’s teasing his brother would give up and leave it alone. Yeah…right.

* * *

 Several days later Ace was jolted out of what should have been the first decent stretch of sleep he’d had in over 72 hours by an overly cheerful voice, "Ace! Ace! Wake up!"

Ace groaned and rolled away. He didn't know what time it was but it was clearly way to early for this nonsense especially as he hadn't gone to sleep until approximately four in the morning. He had been on bartender duty last night as well as the night before not to mention the plotting, planning and other little details that went part and parcel with the potentially volatile situation that his family and his crew found themselves in.

"Ace!" The voice just wouldn't go away. "If you don't get up, I'm going to have to let Luffy in here!"

That would be a disaster some part of Ace's mind noted. His younger brother had returned three days after Sabo had shown up, bringing with him another four people and telling of his adventures, which translated to large swathes of destruction and general mayhem. That had been three long and busy days ago and Ace had spent his time since then running his bar, getting acquainted with the new members of Luffy's crew and introducing them to his own, hanging out with Marco when he came by and helping Sabo figure out where these newcomers could live.

"'m sleepin." He finally grumbled.

"Right," said the voice. "I can see that and unfortunately…" the voice moved away and he heard the door close to his room. Good. Now maybe he could get back to sleep.

Ace had just managed to doze off again when something warm, heavy and screaming his name bounced on top of him. It certainly had the intended effect. Ace was jolted into wakefulness, something he was not terribly fond of, and he lashed out instinctively kicking his brother clean off of the bed and into the wall on the other side of the room.

"It's too damn early." Ace grumbled glaring to cover the fact that he was taking the time to make sure he hadn't injured his brother. His control wasn't the best when he first woke up, something that was rather well known at this point yet it didn't seem to deter Luffy from waking him violently or Sabo sending him to do so.

"Shishishishi" Luffy laughed, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"What do you want Lu?"

"Fight me!" Luffy proclaimed cheerfully then frowned. "No wait, Sabo wanted something. I think something’s happened because Sabo is being rather serious. Oh, and breakfast should be done…"

Luffy was cut off by someone yelling "FOOD!" from downstairs. Of course the moment that Luffy heard the call he was racing out the door and down the hallway. Ace swore and hopped out of bed, searching frantically for his shorts. If he didn't hurry, there wouldn't be any breakfast because his brothers would eat it all. With them both present, every minute counted if he wanted to get fed. He clattered down the stairs and into the bar.

"Here."

Ace blinked as a plate heaping with food was thrust his way as he exited the staircase. Balancing his plate with one hand he found a seat at the table. Breakfast was chaotic, as was any meal with both Luffy and Sabo present, and the general ruckus prevented any real conversation from occurring.   Shoveling food into his mouth, Ace hummed in appreciation. Sanji was a culinary genius. Reaching for seconds, Ace suddenly realized he was sitting between Sabo and Robin Nico, both of whom appeared to have finished their meal. He paused mid reach when he got a good look at his brother. Sabo was far too awake for whatever time it was. He loaded his plate and started eating again, this time a bit more slowly.

"Wa’ time is it?" He asked Robin between mouthfuls.

"Are you sure you want to know?" She inquired, sipping at her cup of coffee.

"No, but that won’t change anything including the fact that its way to early." Ace said.

Robin laughed. "Indeed. Well then Mr. Portgas, the time is 8:17"

"I was right. It is too early and I thought I told you the name is Ace." Ace grumbled turning to glare at his brother again. He really hadn't had that much sleep. From the look of things neither had Sabo. Sabo was the worst morning person he had ever known because it took him so long to wake up. Ace was willing to bet that Sabo had forgone sleep entirely. "How much sleep did you get?" he demanded turning towards his brother

"Enough." Sabo said waiving his concern off.

"Seriously Sabo."

"Two maybe three hours? It's no big deal. I've had some coffee, I'll be fine."

"Right." Ace said disbelievingly as he finished the last of the food on his plate. If Sabo had really had three hours of sleep Ace would cheerfully eat his brother’s signature straw hat. It wasn’t like it would be that hard. There was a sandwich recipe for it and everything. The Duke of Stormvault’s? Stormvaulthen? Some bigwig somewhere’s Big Bet if he was remembering correctly.

"Really!" Sabo protested

"What happened this time? Didja get so caught up in work that you forgot to sleep again?" Ace peered at his brother hoping to be able to discern the reasoning behind Sabo’s sleepless night. The lack of tenseness in Sabo’s posture was relieving as it meant that he hadn’t been kept up by one of the screaming nightmares that they both occasionally suffered from. Work was the most likely culprit, but there was a distinct lack of the ink smudges on Sabo’s hands, which meant that it was something else. Except Ace, for the life of him couldn’t think of what else would have kept him up.

"No.” Sabo huffed, “Well, not really. Madiline called early this morning."

"Okay?" Ace questioned not really processing the problem with that statement.

"Ace, Madiline called." Sabo repeated and watched as Ace began to register the potential problems associated with that sentence.

Ace grimaced as his mind went through various scenarios trying in vain not to imagine the worst. Madiline Bower was another member of the Card Deck. As their best infiltration agent and disguise specialist she had been positioned undercover with the Brass where she could collect information. Normally in order to prevent people from discovering her secret Madiline passed her information along onto her twin who then was able to use a SNAIL or a Transfract and pass on the information either to Sabo or Ace himself. The fact that Madiline had risked everything to call Sabo directly meant something big was happening.

"What happened? Is she ok? Do we need to do anything?" He finally asked only to be ignored.

"You need to go into Agvitatmaa today.” Sabo said. Fortunately he seemed to realize that Ace would need a bit more information than that and continued. “Madiline is fine as is her brother. She didn’t blow her cover or anything so don’t worry about needing to stage a rescue. She managed to overhear something that was time sensitive and couldn’t afford to go through the normal channels.”

Ace opened his mouth to demand that Sabo get to the point.

“Ace, Madiline overheard the closest faction of the Hunt reporting in.”

Oh, Ace thought, that was definitely worth risking a break in cover. Somehow the World Collective had managed to keep the location of their activities fairly under wraps for these past few weeks. Only folks with insiders had any clue that the Hunt had actually started. Everyone else still thought it was just rumors and bluffing.

“They managed to capture Galdino the Candle maker, Buggy the Clown, and Daz Bones the killer before they reported in. Madiline says they’re heading this way and at the speed they are going they’ll be here around lunch,” Sabo’s face was serious, “you can't be here when that happens. You know better than I do what will happen. You and everyone else with a shred of talent need to go to Agvitatmaa. The Brass won’t dare venture that far and risk Whitebeard’s wrath."

Ace threw up his arms in protest. “And do what exactly? I have no reason to be in Agvitatmaa at all Sabo.”

“Yes you do.” Sabo countered pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. “We’re running out of a few things. I had been planning to make a run myself when it was more critical but you can do it now. It’s as good of a reason as any to explain your absence. Besides, you can mail a few things for me when you’re there.”

“Joy. Errands” Ace muttered as he leaned back in his chair and studied his brother. “What about you? Are you going to be ok?”

Sabo just shrugged “What about me? I’m just a humble bartender and sandwich maker who lives in Outskirts.” He grinned, and his voice dropped an octave and lost all of the polished speech that was a part of Sabo’s natural tone and diction “I don’t want no trouble sirs, so I don’t ask. I’m rather fond of my skin, y’see? But there was this one fellow, acting all shifty like he was runnin’ from sommat, in here a couple of days ago. He asked for directions, cause he was trying to get to The Bit o’ Green. And I gave him directions as best I could sirs. I never been there an’ I told ‘im so, but he insisted. And I don’t want no troubles sir, rather fond of my skin I am, and he was trouble, I could tell. Especially if youse are lookin’ for ‘im, he musta done sommat bad. What’d he do?”

Ace laughed at Sabo’s mini performance of the harmless but helpfully curious bartender. "Ok, Ok I’m convinced. You’re finally learning how to mutate that thing that makes people in power want to protect you into making them leave you alone instead. I'll take off at nine. What about Lu?"

"What about me?" Luffy asked curiously from across the table as he finished stuffing the last bite of biscuit in his mouth.

Sabo and Ace exchanged a look but it was Robin who answered. "The Brass will be here this afternoon Captain. They are heading to Outskirts for the next phase of their Hunt."

A silence fell over the room as all of the rest of the Straw Hats stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the conversation. The various reactions among the crew to Robin’s simple statement were intriguing. Again, as they had when they first had learned of the Hunts starting up Nami and Usopp both looked rather worried. On the other hand Sanji and Franky appeared to be annoyed. The expression on Chopper’s face was undecipherable, Brook’s curious, and Zoro’s grin had settled somewhere between manic and deranged while one hand shifted so that he would be able to unsheathe any of his swords and cut down any enemy that would come at them. Robin herself sported no expression of any sort while Luffy… Ace blinked to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, and then turned to Sabo in bewilderment. Sabo looked just as shocked. They turned back together towards their brother who sported a small angry frown. Luffy in the meantime was studying each of his crewmembers in turn, staring at Robin the longest of them all.   Finally he turned to meet Ace and Sabo’s curious gaze.

Eyes serious Luffy proclaimed, "I want to fight them."

Ace exchanged a look of despair with Sabo. He knew that tone all too well. It was the one that Luffy always got when he was going to be particularly stubborn about something. It would be a challenge to figure out how to change his mind and there was no telling if Luffy would actually keep his mind changed for any longer than it took to get out of sight.

“Why?” Sabo asked after a moment.

“Because they hurt Robin!” Luffy proclaimed rather angrily.

Ace sighed in realization and resignation. They were all protective of their friends and crew and upsetting one of the people they considered precious was generally enough of a reason to take up arms. Unfortunately it was more than that. Sabo’s information implied that it had been a sighting of Robin, after all, that had incited the World Collective to start the Hunts again. They were after her and wouldn’t stop until they found her or had bagged enough talent to pacify their current insecurity.

“Luffy,” Ace asked as he suddenly remembered the state that his brother and his crew had been in when they had stumbled into the Bar six days ago, “What exactly did you do?”

Either Luffy didn’t hear the question or simply ignored it because he continued   “They hurt Robin and want her to go with them but she doesn’t want to. Now they’re coming here cause they didn’t learn that they can’t mess with my crew or my family so I’m going to fight them!”

Ace spared another glance at Sabo to see if he was going to say anything, but Sabo just looked as if he was going to have a coronary, probably due to something that he had just realized. Ace realized that it was going to be up to him to stop Luffy from doing something stupid and getting himself captured or killed. Before he could say anything though, another voice spoke up.

"NO! Luffy you can’t!" Looking for the source of voice Ace was shocked to realize that it had come from the youngest person in the room, Tony Tony Chopper, one of the newer Straw Hats and currently their doctor/surgeon.

"Why not?" Luffy asked rather petulantly, the traces of his anger starting to dissipate much quicker than it would have had Ace and Sabo said anything.

Ace’s worry turned to slight amusement as he watched the scene unfold. The fact that Luffy had backed down was good. It said a lot about his crew that they were willing to at least attempt to stop him from doing particularly suicidal things. It spoke of the love, respect and trust that the group had for each other that they were able to handle Luffy when he was being particularly…well Luffy… let alone the dangerous vandal leader that they all knew he was.

"Because you're still too injured!" Came the shrill cry from the small humanoid ungulate.

"I'm fine Chopper!" Luffy complained.

"No you're not!” Chopper protested. “You really shouldn't even be out of bed yet!"

The rest of the crew muttered in agreement. Ace could tell that Luffy was actually listening to the grumbles. Oh yes, that respect clearly went both ways. They were his and he was theirs and he trusted their judgement. Unfortunately, knowing Luffy and his previous statement, someone was going to have to give him a logical reason other than weakness and maybe some sort of distraction to get him to back down. Ace was sure that he wouldn’t go headlong into an all out fight but he wouldn’t put it past Luffy to attempt a set of hit-and-run raids to harass the Brass which wouldn’t be good for anyone in Outskirts and could just entice the Collective to attempt to wipe the town off the map entirely. Ace tried to think of a suitable alternative and came up blank. Luckily Sabo who’d apparently recovered from whatever the hell had just happened seemed to have no such problem.

"Luffy," Sabo said catching his brother’s attention after a sidelong glance at the young doctor. "I really need you do me a favor that will most likely also help you out with your ultimate objective.”

"What is it?" Luffy asked confused.

Ace hoped that whatever Sabo was planning would be good because he could see Luffy’s attention returning towards the prospect of fighting the Brass one way or another.

"We need more meat.”

“Meat?” Luffy asked and Ace smiled. That would definitely do it. Meat was a perfect plan to distract Luffy from any thoughts of a fight.

“Yeah. I took a look at the cindicones yesterday and they're almost ripe so the Flashflame will be starting soon. We don’t have enough meat to last the entire season. So, whadda say? Want to go hunt some Vlamhauss for me?"

"Hmm" Luffy said tilting his head as he always did when thinking. "Why can’t you do it? Or Ace? Besides how’s hunting gonna help me fight the Brass?" he asked after a moment.

"Ace is going to run into Agvitatmaa to get some other supplies; things we won’t be able to make ourselves. That means I’ve got to tend the bar today and we really need someone to go hunting" Sabo said with a smile.

Luffy fell silent again looking a little confused.

It was quiet enough so that everyone heard Chopper ask quietly, "What’s a Cindicone?"

"It's a type of plant," Usopp responded just as quietly "It’s a rather special and is key to the weather and life in general in this area."

Sabo beamed at the whispering crew members while Luffy furrowed his brow at them.

Ace decided he’d better intervene otherwise Luffy would most likely get frustrated before Sabo bothered to explain. "Your crew doesn’t know the area. If you are going to fight the Brass, someone needs to explain the climate, the plant life and how things work around here. Hunting’s a good enough way to do so.” Ace looked around at the gathered crew. “None of you are from similar areas to this right?” Chopper, Robin and Franky all shook their heads, though it was only Brook who spoke.

"Indeed no." Brook said, chuckling slightly. “This is entirely new for myself and a rather exciting one at that judging from the terminology you are throwing around. I gather that cindicones and Flashflame have something to do with the non-flammable nature of the construction methods used around here?”

“You might say that. Its certainly one of the reasons.” Ace replied then turned his attention back to Luffy. “Besides you need to show them the Canyon and the badlands around it. That’s the perfect place to lure someone into an ambush then run them ragged trying to find you. It also doesn’t hurt that you will find everything that this area can throw at you there. It will hone all your skills and would be quite the adventure.”

Luffy had perked up at the mention of heading towards the Canyon. Ace held his breath hoping this would be enough of an excuse to postpone going after the Brass.

There was a moment of silence then Luffy finally asked, "Guys?" while looking at the rest of his crew.

Damn, Ace thought, it looked like Sabo’s plan and his explanation hadn’t completely derailed their brother’s homicidal impulses.

The crew, however, was a different matter. They were looking rather intrigued. Some seemed excited at the prospect of learning a new area while others appeared interested in hunting and still others seemed to be contemplating the strategic value of using the uniqueness of the terrain to their advantage.

Finally Zoro spoke for the group with a simple, “Lead on, Captain.”

Luffy looked thoughtful then suddenly grinned, "Woohoo! Adventure! Everyone ready?"

This time the answer was a series of general nods of agreement with no outburst from the young doctor. Luffy’s grin became impossibly wide. "Then lets GO!" he cried hopping up and racing for the door.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the group to rush out behind him.

"Well that takes care of that problem" Sabo said smiling wryly.

Ace waited for an additional comment but nothing was forthcoming. Instead Sabo just sat there still slightly pale and looking very worried.

Ace frowned but leaned over slightly and rapped his knuckles on his brother’s forehead. “You all right in there?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“What happened?”

“Luffy”

Ace rolled his eyes. “I figured as much but details please.”

“Well, he indirectly confirmed something that I had been desperately wishing was a rumor.”

Ace watched as Sabo seemed to lapse into silent brooding again.

“Sabo?”

“Yeah, yeah. Well Luffy and his crew was apparently responsible for the mess on the Mountain of the Midnight Sun. It was destroyed about a week ago, by a yet unnamed group of Vandals. Four days ago, the World Collective released a statement proclaiming that Robin Nico had been arrested after having instigating an attack on Midnight Sun to free a very dangerous weapons inventor by the name of Cutty Flam.”

“Who the hell is Cutty Flam and how did you determine Luffy was responsible for that?”

“I didn’t. The Revolutionaries had people there but even they don’t have the whole story or know who Cutty Flam is. All they knew was that a group of Brass had managed to capture a high value target, which was somehow instrumental to some plan of theirs. They took the target to the complex on the mountain. Soon after that an organized group attacked the mountain. The details are very limited, but somehow the attacking group triggered and then escaped a volcanic eruption that destroyed the top half of the mountain. Now Luffy arrives here injured with his crew all battered and scorched and tells us that Robin was kidnapped by the Brass and that he raised hell to get her back. Not to mention that all of his other stories of where they’ve been all take place in the same general vicinity of that mountain. You know our younger brother so you tell me that his presence in the area was simply a coincidence.”

Ace knew he was staring. “Shit. No way in hell. You’re sure Luffy did all that?”

“Yep. I’d bet my hat on it.” Sabo sighed, “I’ve got feelers out with my sources ever since he trailed in. I should have more details in a few days and we’ll know if the Collective has an inkling of the who the culprits are or not.”

“Is he aware that he has effectively just declared war on the Cesspool and its allies?” Ace inquired in slight despair.

Sabo didn’t appear to have an answer. He simply shrugged his shoulders.

“When he gets back,” Ace growled. “I’m going to kill him.”

Sabo chuckled at that before standing and starting to clean up the mess from breakfast. “Good luck with that. You do know it’s going to be a week at the minimum before they’ll make it back, right?”

“I know, I know. I was the one who suggested that he take the gang to the Canyon after all.”

“Speaking of going places…” Sabo said trailing off

"Right. I should be off soon." Ace said pushing away from the table. "If I’m going to be purchasing things in the Territory I’m going to need coin. Do we have enough so that I can take some or did you want me to sell the Vlamhauss pelts as well?” Ace paused for a moment then added, “And you have messages I'm collecting right? Other than dropping off and collecting the mail, I mean."

"We have enough coin but can you take some of the pelts while you are going? If you don’t mind getting those messages for me, I’d seriously appreciate it.” Sabo said.

“‘S not a problem. The Bookstore in 7th and the Apothecary in 10th right?” Ace said as he grabbed a couple of bags and moved behind the counter and through the kitchen, Sabo trailing behind with a load of dirty dishes. “Still using the same codes?”

“Right, and the codes are three down the list from the last time you went” Sabo confirmed. “By the way, can you take one of those TransSNAILs that Franky made? I want to test it before we send it out to the rest of the Deck. I'll call or send a message once the Brass are gone."

“Sure.” Ace nodded and continued through the kitchen to a storeroom in the back that held nonperishable foods and various other things.

Opening one chest, Ace fished out a small pile of Vlamhauss pelts, which he promptly stuffed into one of his bags.   Heading back into the kitchen he took a good look at his brother. It was clear that Sabo was not quite ready to face the rest of day.  

"Marie should be in around ten or so to help.” Ace commented, watching the very faint relief bloom on his brother’s face at the idea that he wouldn’t have to run the shop alone. “You might want to let her know what's up otherwise she's liable to punch someone." He warned.

"I know." Sabo said rolling his eyes at the memory of what had happened the last time someone had forgotten to warn Marie about the presence of the Brass in the Bar. "Not the first time I've done this."

Ace laughed recalling the same thing that Sabo had. That had been a good day. His laughter was cut short by Sabo asking "Shouldn't you be gone yet?"

Ace chortled and studied his brother once more. Sabo had been slightly distracted as he asked that question, a tell-tale sign that he was about to become lost in the labyrinth of his own thoughts as he tried to puzzle out new angles to any number of problems or tease the bigger picture from the scraps of information that he assembled. Sabo would be fine, Ace concluded but he wouldn’t if he didn’t hurry.   It wouldn’t do to run into the Brass on the road before he even reached the safety of Agvitatmaa after all.

* * *

It was late in the evening when Ace made it back into Outskirts and the S’andwich Bar. He avoided the bar proper and pounded up the outside stairs into the apartment.

“Hey Sabo!” Ace yelled as he barreled into the shared living room area between their bedrooms looking for his brother. He didn’t have to look far as the other man was reclining on the couch intently focused on something in his hands.

“What?” Sabo asked absently, not really looking up.

Ace huffed then flopped down next to him, listing over till he was leaning on his brother. “You’re never going to guess who I ran into today.” He continued, his enthusiasm undiminished.

“Marco?” Sabo asked dryly still not changing the focus of his attention.

Ace colored slightly but attempted to brush it off. “Well, yes, but what does that have to do with anything?” he sputtered then something occurred to him “And why, out of all the people that we know, is he your first guess?”

“Because you like him.” Sabo mentioned.

“I might.” Ace glared at his brother when he looked over. Of course it was the vocal acknowledgement that he might like Marco as more than a friend that caught his brother’s attention. He crossed his arms and pouted. “But again, what does that have to do with the price of peas in Persepolis?”

“Nothing apparently.” Sabo grinned as he finally sat down his papers and Ace nodded. Exactly. It didn’t have anything to do with anything at all. “So, if running into Marco wasn’t what you wanted to tell me about, who did you run into that made you so happy?”

“I ran into Rockstar!” Ace proclaimed as he shifted on the couch making himself more comfortable as he rested his head on Sabo’s leg.

“Rockstar?” Sabo raised an eyebrow at his brother. “As in Rockstar from…?”

Ace nodded. “Yep.”

“Huh.” Sabo said, leaning back one hand absently carding through Ace’s hair. “What’s he doing here? This is a bit out of his way isn’t it?”

Ace chuckled. “That’s why he’s here. Apparently his just passing through and stopped to say hi. Oh and also to pass some information to Whitebeard.”

“Cool. So we’ll see him in what, a couple of days then?”

“Yeah. That’s what I would guess.” Ace said, closing his eyes and just relaxing in the moment. “So, how did it go with the Brass? Didj’a have to prevent Marie from throwing anyone out?”

Sabo laughed but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “That would have been better than what did happen.”

“What actually happened?” Ace demanded. “You didn’t sound like yourself when you called to test the TransSNAIL.”

“Somehow the Marines have figured out some of the secrets behind the Devils abilities.”

Ace blinked. “What” he said flatly, disbelief coloring his tone.

“No joke.” Sabo said “The Marines have developed a new weapon. It works on anyone but somehow is able to allow a norm fight on par with an Ability User. It’s the reason that the Brass is able to move so freaking fast this time around.”

“A weapon that allows people to fight Users evenly? How the fuck does that work?” Ace demanded

“I’m not entirely sure. It’s some sort of synthetic coating that they’ve started applying to weapons. Contact is enough to drain a User of their energy and prevent them from using their Ability. To be able to use the ability again, you’ve got to remove the coating, whatever it is. Just pulling out the weapon that’s coated with the shit won’t cut it. The stuff rubs off and things short out until you remove it. They’ve been going around and testing people by handing them the stupid stuff. It gave me an allergy attack, which they did not like at all. Apparently if that happens, it means you have the potential to become a User.”

Sabo sighed, “I suppose now I’m on their watch list. We’ll have to deal with them sniffing around whenever they execute someone to see if I get the power. Luckily they only know me as S, a part time bar tender.

“How the hell did they manage to figure that out?” Ace wondered “Hell, how were they able to confirm that is what that stuff did?”

“Who knows.” Sabo said though from his tone it was clear that he had an idea. “Unfortunately I think it lends credit to the rumor that the World’s Cesspool has somewhere that they conduct human experimentation on Users.”

“Great.” Ace grumbled. “Another thing to worry about. Hey, how’d you manage to find that out? Your act is good but there is no way they’d tell you that much, especially if they cared about your potential to be a user.”

“I know.” Sabo said. “The Brass didn’t tell me anything at all. In fact, they refused to talk to me at all once I’d recovered from my allergy attack. Marie figured it out.”

“Marie?”

“Yeah. She was being herself.

“And no one died?”

“Apparently not. One of the members of the Brass found her attitude ‘Charming’ and thought they could impress her by bragging about the impressive knowledge he’s holding. She went with it until he started repeating information and switched to hitting on her. She’s still pissed at me for having to do that in the first place. Not sure why. She chose to flirt.”

Ace snickered. “I can only imagine. So, what are we doing with this information?”

Sabo shrugged. “At the moment? Nothing. I’m sure I’ll figure something out though. Just be careful when dealing with Brass from now on yeah?”

“Sure.” Ace said but Sabo didn’t look convinced. Thankfully he didn’t press the issue, instead choosing to ask

“So, you ran into Marco today?”

Ace’s grin grew. “I did indeed. Kinda a funny story actually. Want to hear it?”

Sabo nodded. “Sure.”

“Right!” Ace said “So I was in the spice markets looking for that spice you wanted when…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you all think of this. Reviews make my day and by the time we get to the this story will turn out to be the longest thing that Ive ever written. According to my word count I've essentially written a novel and Id really like feedback.


	7. No Such Thing as an Ordinary Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rather unordinary day for the citizens of Agvitatmaa, with a focus on three people in particular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun things are fun and also very tiring. Im not sure why exactly I felt the need to state that as Im pretty sure its one of those universal truths, but then again Im also a little loopy from driving just over 2333 km/1450 m in 4 days. Anyways I wanted to make sure I got this chapter up and out for you all before I go fall asleep cause I have some serious zzzz's that I need to catch up on.
> 
> As always, the magnificent Ktwontwo has been an absolute gem and beta'ed this chapter for me. Seriously guys you should go check out their stuff. Its phenomenal and you definitely wont regret it.
> 
> The fantastically amazing absolutely outstanding awesome Idaida on tumblr is responsible for the lovely art. Thank you again for choosing my story in the 2016 OP Big Bang. It was a pleasure to work with you! To all of you readers who are lamenting the fact that you havent seen the picture, never fear! Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds
> 
> And now, without further ado we return you to your regularly scheduled story!

"So why am I here again?" Thatch asked the mixed crowd of employees and customers outside of the small grill.

Thatch frowned as he watched the nervous group. They all clustered together nervously and Thatch shook his head slightly. This was not normally something that he had to deal with. Usually when there was a problem within the territory proper the citizens simply went to the local Enforcers office where they would handle the problem.

This was not what had happened this time around. Instead they had called him directly. Whatever they needed his help for had them rather worried for he hadn't heard a single greeting from these people since he had gotten here. That alone would have made this strange situation unusual but it was even more so for him. Thatch was a frequent visitor to the various eateries in this district. Talking shop with the various chefs was his favorite way to relax and it always gave him new ideas to try when he cooked for the family.

"Well…" one man started, but he clearly had no clue of how he was supposed to explain whatever the problem was and the sentence trailed off and faded back into silence while Thatch watched entirely unimpressed.

That feeling continued to grow when no one bother to speak up after a few minutes of waiting. "Look," He finally said once he'd had enough of their dithering, "Is this a prank that one of the others put you up to?" Thatch asked facing them, hands on his hips. He was actually a little surprised by the reaction that question got.

"No no no!" The man who had been unable to articulate his thoughts only a moment ago was quick to reassure him, "No pranks. Nothing like that at all!"

"Then what is it?" Thatch asked. This was taking time. Time that he didn't really have. There was a lot of paperwork that he wanted to finish this afternoon, if only to show the others that he actually could get his paperwork done before the deadline.

The first man looked sheepish and turned away. Another person took the chance to speak but they didn't do much better at conveying the problem that he had been called to fix. "Its… well…" the second man began.

"We don't know what it is." A woman said stepping forward and cutting off her coworkers. "They think someone died in the shop."

Thatch blinked. He couldn't have heard that correctly. "Sorry, did you just say someone died?"

The woman shrugged and Thatch marveled at her ability to remain rather unconcerned with the entire situation despite the fact that he had apparently been called to deal with a dead body. "Someone might have died" She said, "But we don't know."

"Right." Thatch said, scratching the back of his head in befuddlement. This was certainly a new one. "Well, what happened that made you think someone had died?"

"About halfway through my shift a young man came in and ordered a fairly large lunch. He began eating and we left him alone after that, as he had ordered a substantial amount of food and we thought it would take him some time to finish it. Eventually one of the others noticed that the young man hadn't left and went to check on him. We found him collapsed on top of the table in his lunch."

"We thought he might have died but couldn't tell of what" Came the rather meek voice of the original speaker. He twisted his hands together nervously then continued albeit reluctantly "Its… possible we overreacted but the papers and the transfract broadcasts have stressed that we call the enforcers or the commanders if something strange occurs."

"And we figured that a perfectly healthy young man collapsing during his lunch constituted as being strange" The woman said with the same uncaring tone that she had expressed earlier.

"He also hasn't paid." Someone else muttered from the midst of the group though it was impossible to tell who had said it.

"And the manager said to not bother the enforcers and called you instead," said another person from the back of the pack.

It was as if that last statement had broken the log jam and the employees and patrons all clustered around him babbling about where they were and what they had been doing at the time the young man had collapsed. Thatch's eyebrows rose at the explanations. He had been too dismissive of their problem initially. The manager had done the right thing though. A person suddenly dying was rather strange and potentially very serious especially during Pirate King protocols. The enforcers would have kicked this up to him anyway and the as yet unnamed manager had somehow realized this and cut out the middle men.

Now that he had a decent idea of what was going on Thatch ignored the rest of the babbling in lieu of indulging in a bit of speculation. Hopefully this would be the only case of such a thing happening. If it wasn't then this could be the start of something extremely problematic and Marco, Izo and Jozu would all have a field day with this. Thatch hummed to himself. For now he would treat it as an individual case, but he couldn't help consider the implications and possibilities and frankly, he didn't like where his speculations were headed. He made a mental note to find out if Marco and the others had considered contingencies in case someone ever tried to weaken them with an act of bioterrorism. It hadn't happened before but Teach, Blackbeard, was enough of a bastard that he would use it if he thought of it. Thatch shook his head. There was no use borrowing trouble, especially as he didn't think that was the case here.

"You said he was healthy?" He asked the woman who had established herself as the only truly competent person in the group, intent on confirming that last thought. "Are you sure? He wasn't coughing, pale or unusually sweaty? Did he have any open wounds or anything?"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "None of that. He was a perfectly healthy young man as far as I could see."

"Did he eat anything other than what was served to him? Take any medicines or anything?" Thatch asked, attempting to think of all the ways someone could carry in a plague or poison.

"No medicines or anything. The only things that he ate or drank were things we served him."

Thatch nodded and continued on, "How old would you guess he was?"

"Mid to late twenties." The woman was starting to sound annoyed now. "Is there a point to this?" she demanded to know.

"Yes" Thatch said, honestly surprised that she hadn't caught on yet. "I'm trying to figure out why he collapsed and died. If he was a young man then it's highly unlikely that his death was caused by a heart attack or some other health issue. If he wasn't sick and the only things he ate and drank was what was given to him and they were not messed with then I can probably rule a variety of things out before I even see the body."

"What?" Someone in the group squeaked and Thatch ignored them in favor of continuing his deduction.

"Which means that it'll be safe to approach the body. I can't rule out poison just yet. Was there anything strange in your kitchen this morning or unusual about his food?"

"The only thing unusual was the amount he ordered" the woman said, and annoyance started to change to anger "Are you accusing us of something?"

"Not at all." Thatch said cheerfully. "Just trying to figure things out. It's entirely possible that something happened elsewhere and took a while to kick in. So…" he said rubbing his hands together, perhaps a little to gleefully for the seriousness of the situation but he couldn't help it. This was so much more interesting than paperwork

"It's probably nothing and if it is actually something I'll take care of it personally," Thatch said intentionally pitching his voice so that all could hear. Hopefully that would keep the rumors down while he investigated. Thatch suddenly realized that he had no idea which of these idiots standing around was actually in charge, or for that matter which one had placed the call. None of them looked like they had more than three brain cells to rub together at the moment.

"So where's the manager?" he asked.

From the mutters and murmurs of the group Thatch quickly determined that the manager was still inside keeping an eye on things.

"I'm going go inside and inspect the body." Thatch announced to the crowd. Once again he hoped the I'm in charge and I know what I'm doing attitude would keep things from getting out of hand. A few of the more curious employees trailed in behind him. The interior of the dining area was rather well lit, making it immediately possible to discern the source of the disturbance. The manager was still nowhere to be seen.

Exactly as the wait staff had said, a young man in an orange cowboy hat was slumped over on one table face first in a plate full of food. Several other plates with varying degrees of fullness surrounded him. Thatch studied the young man for a minute, attempting to figure out who he was. He wasn't at all familiar to Thatch, but the Whitebeard Territory was a rather large place so that didn't mean much. The knife on his belt however implied the kid wasn't a local. This deep into the territory only members of the Enforcers bothered to wear weapons openly and even then they were considered by the citizens to be paranoid as they normally didn't need them. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.

"Did anyone bother to check and see if he had actually died?" He asked as he continued studying the young man.

"No." Said a voice from behind him and Thatch turned to look at the speaker. It was the woman from outside leaning against the front door frame effectively blocking access. "I didn't think we needed to. It was fairly obvious that he's dead. Why else would he collapse in a plate of food?"

Judging from her clothing she was the waitress who had been serving the guy who had collapsed.

Thatch shrugged and turned back to the body, refusing to let the citizens see his loss of bravado. He had hoped, rather desperately that someone had bothered to check. If the guy had keeled over due to something contagious he really didn't want to touch him. If he could figure out if the man had died by just looking at him, he would. Unfortunately that was going to be impossible. The way the young man had fallen, his hair obscured his face. Not that it would have helped much if Thatch could see it anyways. Based on how he was sitting, he had landed face first in his plate of food. Funnily enough, the guy hadn't let go of the burger that he had been eating when he had perished. Thatch snorted softly in amusement but then grimaced as he realized that he would actually have to touch the kid. Thatch gulped, this was going to be so nasty. He stretched out a finger to touch the man's shoulder. With what seemed like agonizing slowness his finger drew closer and closer. It was less than a centimeter away when the unthinkable happened. The dead guy sat up.

Thatch jumped back with a rather manly squeak that he hoped to hell no one else noticed. He doubted anyone did, as his only witness was the woman in the doorway who he had heard react in much the same manner. The noise didn't appear to bother the young man either as he simply took a bite of the sandwich that he was still holding and exclaimed "Damn! That is a tasty burger."

Thatch blinked at that statement while he watched the kid continue eating as if he hadn't just successfully freaked out one of the Whitebeard Enforcer's commanders and a good portion of the restaurant's staff and patronage. "What the hell?" he finally muttered and the man looked over at him in rather obvious confusion.

"What?" he had the nerve to ask as he finished his burger in another couple of bites and reached for another plate of food.

"They thought you were dead!" Thatch said, taking the moment to study the young man now that he could actually see his face. The term young man was a rather generous description, Thatch decided after a moment. He couldn't say how old the other man actually was, but he didn't look to be much older than twenty

"Thought I was what, then?" The kid, as Thatch mentally dubbed him, asked his confusion and bewilderment growing.

"That you were dead!" Thatch repeated.

"I'm not dead." The kid countered calmly, crunching a potato chip as he spoke. "I'm pretty sure that I'd know it if I died."

Thatch rolled his eyes then amended his statement. "Ok, fine. You're not dead. But you did collapse and freak everyone out."

"I did?" The kid looked around, noticing for the first time that the restaurant was completely deserted and there was a whole group of people was peering around the woman in the doorway. "Oh." He said softly and turned back to Thatch looking genuinely remorseful. "Sorry. I fell asleep."

Thatch sputtered. "You fell asleep?" He heard an echo from the doorway and sighed. He waived a hand at the woman indicating that she could explain the situation to her coworkers and let them back through into the dining room. They did have a business to run after all and he could handle this especially now that they were aware the man hadn't actually died.

"Yeah. It happens. Sorry." The kid said again, looking rather curiously at the people who were now drifting in and getting back to work. Well most of them were, Thatch noted. Some had stopped and were staring at the pair.

"So you weren't trying to get out of paying by pretending to be dead?" a random member of the wait staff asked as he walked by, apparently unsatisfied with the explanation he had been given.

The kid stared at the nosy employee but didn't even get a chance to answer as the female server chose that moment to drag him away by the ear.

Instead the kid looked horribly offended and turned to Thatch, "Wha? Who thought I would do that? Are there people who seriously do that? Honestly though who would even do that? What kind of person do you people take me for?" The kid demanded

"I don't know." Thatch said with a shrug as he shot a glare at another overly curious employee. "What kind of a person are you?"

"No one special, so no need to get worried Mr. Pompadour." The guy said with a wry smile. "I'm just your average guy running errands."

Thatch snorted. "A guy who falls asleep in his lunch is not someone I would call particularly average, but whatever." There was a moment of silence as the conversation died and the guy returned to his food. Unwilling to let the potential for an interesting afternoon slip from his fingers, Thatch asked suddenly "Wait, what did you call me?"

The man looked slightly startled, but he took the time to swallow his bite before speaking. "Well, I don't know your name and I had to call you something."

Thatch eyed the kid who was still sitting and eating calmly. Something was definitely suspicious here. In Agvitatmaa the leaders of the Whitebeard Enforcers were rather famous. Why hadn't this guy made the connection? "Well, I can tell you that my name is definitely not Mr. Pompadour. It's Thatch." He said, watching the others reaction closely for any sign of something amiss.

"Thatch?" The kid repeated as if he had never heard it before. The realization of Thatch's identity never appeared to come. "Nice to meet'cha Thatch," the kid said with a beaming grin, "M' name's Ace."

Well that certainly confirmed it. The kid, Ace, definitely was not a local. Judging from the reactions Thatch also had a sneaking suspicion that figuring out exactly where he hailed from was going to be a challenge. After a moment's thought Thatch decided that this was definitely worth his time The paperwork he had left on his desk wasn't even due for another couple of days anyways. If Marco got to take off every other afternoon to visit his Border Bar, then Thatch could very well take the afternoon to make a new friend.

"Mind if I join you, kid?" He asked.

Ace looked surprised, but shrugged. "'M not a kid, but sure."

Thatch's grin grew as he took the seat across from Ace. "Great!" He said joyfully as he flagged down one of the wait staff. After ordering, Thatch settled himself more comfortably in his seat and turned his attention back to the enigma that had become his lunch companion. "So what brings you here to Agvitatmaa Ace?"

* * *

Ever since Haruta had burst into his office, just under a week and half ago Izo knew that Marco had taken to leaving his door open when he was inside working on paperwork. Presumably it was because it made things more convenient when people had come by looking for help understanding the Pirate King protocols or any of the new routines that came with it. Now, though Izo thought, Marco had simply grown used to it. It wasn't a bad idea. Sure it took him a little longer to finish his paperwork but it also was allowed him to stay better connected to the rest of the family as they popped in and out at random times for any number of reasons. It had the added benefit of making sure that when Marco wanted something to stay private or to not be disturbed, all he had to do was close the door and everyone immediately knew to leave it alone. The only downside Izo could see was that he couldn't throw the door open dramatically when he needed to talk to Marco.

Izo tapped on the doorframe interrupting Marco as he reached for the next report in a pile of them.

"Yes?" He asked looking up.

"Have you seen Thatch?" Izo leaned against the open doorframe. He knew he made quite a sight with his hands tucked into the sleeves of his favorite pink and purple kimono. He just had to find a substitute for a dramatic slammed open door.

Marco opened his mouth to respond then paused. Izo could see he was thinking. In fact Izo could follow the questions from the minute clues on his brother's face: Why was Izo looking for Thatch? Had Thatch had done something? No Izo is too calm if that were indeed the case. Do I _really_ want to know? Is it something I need to get involved in?

"Not recently." he finally responded. "What has he done now?"

Izo smiled and flapped a hand at him. "He hasn't caused any trouble if that's what you're thinking."

Marco smirked, confused. "Thatch is always causing trouble. Though if he hasn't done anything, why are you looking for him?"

Izo chuckled. "He asked for help with the paperwork. I said I would give him a hand if I finished my own in time but he's not in his office. I was on my way to check the warehouses."

Marco blinked. "Thatch asked for help with his paperwork? Instead of just rushing it before the deadline like he always does? Are you sure he wasn't playing a prank on you?"

Izo glared. "For his sake I hope not. Do you know where he is or no, Marco?"

"I don't know where Thatch is, but I doubt he'll be at the warehouses. He dropped by earlier this morning to clarify some things, but as he was leaving he received a transfract call from somewhere in his district. Someone was having a problem and he went out to deal with it. Knowing Thatch, he's probably still there because something or another distracted him. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened you know."

"Great." Izo said with a small frown. "If he's dealing with something in his district, then I'm going to have to go track him down regardless. If I don't and he did get distracted then he won't make it back in time. We still are having that meeting correct?"

"Might want to check the warehouses anyways. He might be done by now. But if he isn't then I'd recommend that you just look for the biggest source of noise." Marco offered. "But yes, the meeting is still happening. In…" he glanced at the clock on the wall next to him. "a few hours actually"

"Right. Thanks Marco." Izo said pushing off of the doorframe.

"Just, don't hurt him when you find him; at least not too badly."

Izo chuckled. "If it really was a prank, I make no promises. But I will let you know when I find him."

Had it really been that long since he had been in the Fourth District, Izo wondered absently as he made his way down yet another side street, still searching for Thatch. He had gone to where he had remembered Thatch's favorite restaurant, the one with the unfortunate uniforms, only to discover that they were no longer located at that address. After coaxing the new address out of the establishment that now occupied that space Izo had made his way to their new premises only to learn that Thatch had left a little over an hour ago.

He also learned that the restaurant had been the source of the problem that had taken Thatch out of the office in the first place. The staff was all to happy to regale him of the tale of the stranger who had collapsed seemingly dead into his lunch and how Thatch had revived him by poking his shoulder. What was really strange they informed him was that Thatch had sat down and had lunch with the guy and they had left together arguing about sandwiches of all things.

The oddity of the situation had struck Izo as odd for slightly different reasons. Thatch arguing about food was not an unusual occurrence in and of itself. No what was bizarre was the fact that Thatch had found someone who could hold his own in such an argument. What was weird was the stranger had by report enough thoughts and ideas that at least one of the chefs had started taking notes. It was just another thing to question Thatch about when he found him, Izo decided.

Well, Izo thought as he left. At least he knew where Thatch and his new companion were headed. The spice market shouldn't be too hard to find despite the fact that it moved around depending upon the season. All you needed to do was to follow your nose.

A barrage of scents assaulted Izo as he exited the ally that he had been traversing signaling that he had finally arrived at the spice market. Izo blinked and took a small step backwards so that he was out of the way of the hustle and bustle and took a deep breath to allow his nose acclimate to the powerful scents that had effectively just been shoved in his face. At the same time, he took a moment to study the crowd. With luck, Thatch would still be here, and hopefully he wouldn't be that hard to find seeing as not many people paraded around with pompadours.

Rather loud boisterous laughter drew his attention towards one particular direction of the market. Lo and behold there was someone with a rather large pompadour standing next to a slightly shorter man in a bright orange hat that Izo recalled as belonging to the not really dead person Thatch had been called to investigate. It was nice to finally find his brother but to see him so relaxed and enjoying himself when Izo had just spent the past hour looking for him was mildly infuriating. Marco's words from earlier made a sudden reappearance and Izo's annoyance grew. If this had been a prank, Thatch was definitely going to get it.

* * *

"And that's when I…" Thatch said only to stop when he noticed that his newfound friend was no longer paying attention to the story that he had been telling. Instead Ace had a peculiar mixture of confusion and wariness on his face directed towards something behind him. "Is something wrong?"

"No…" Ace said slowly, "It's just, well, there's an incredibly irate…" Ace trailed off for a moment as if he couldn't figure out what to say eventually settling on "person bearing down on us and I don't know why…"

Thatch didn't actually get to hear the rest of Ace's sentence as it was cut off by a voice that Thatch recognized. "Thatch you inconsiderate, aggravating moron!" the voice proclaimed, and Thatch turned slowly to a sight he knew rather well, an annoyed Izo on the warpath.

"What the hell, Izo?" Thatch proclaimed in confusion. Why in heaven's name was his brother upset? Thatch hadn't pranked him in weeks! "Whatever it was, I didn't do it!" he continued indignantly. He could always admire a good prank, but if he had to take the blame for one that he didn't do, well that just wasn't fair!

"So this wasn't a prank?" Izo demanded coming to stand next to the pair

"What wasn't a prank?" Thatch asked, honestly baffled.

"Asking for my help and then running off to screw around in the markets? Forcing me to spend an hour and a half tracking you down?" Izo asked, a rather dangerous tone in his voice.

"No!" Thatch said while his mind raced. Had he actually done that? It took a moment, and Thatch grimaced when he realized that he had actually just done exactly that. Explaining this to Izo with the mood the other was in would be practically useless. After all Izo would point out that Thatch could have left after dealing with the problem. He just couldn't get him to understand that not just anyone was willing to argue about different types of bread and how that affected the flavors of different meats or trade hilarious stories of shit that one's siblings could get up to. In addition, the average citizens were all too aware of his position as a district commander and treated him as such. None of them would believe the stories he told because they would be sure that there was no way that any of the other commanders would have fallen victim to a prank. The citizens frequently seemed to forget that the commanders were people too. Ace didn't even seem know who Thatch was making him the perfect audience. Yet explaining that second reason to Izo would be less than futile. Thatch knew had to try anyways. Hopefully Izo wasn't too annoyed with him just yet.

"It wasn't a prank." He said "I honestly forgot."

"You forgot?" Izo asked, and Thatch knew that mentioning that had been a mistake. Instead of calming his brother down like he had hoped it would, it seemed to set off the other man even more. "You forgot. Of course you did" Izo said continuing his tirade "Honestly Thatch. Only you would bother to forget asking for help. What a waste of an afternoon. There were so many other things that I could have been doing this afternoon as opposed to looking for you."

Thatch's sheepish grin turned wicked as he spotted a fallacy in his brother's logic. "They can't have been that important or interesting" he pointed out cheerfully.

"Pardon?" Izo asked

"You didn't want to spend the afternoon working either!"

"What?"

"When you realized I wasn't in the building, you could have kept on with the other things you claim to have needed to be doing. But you didn't!"

"I fail to see what that has to do with anything." Izo said and Thatch grinned even wider as Izo's annoyance shift into the familiar friendly teasing that made up the majority of their arguments and banter.

"You're just using me to escape work yourself. You didn't have to come looking for me, you know." Thatch pointed out calmly, relishing in the expression that resided on Izo's face

Thatch relished the expression that was now present on Izo's face. It wasn't often that he was able to see his brother stunned speechless. It took a moment for Izo to regain his composure but when he did, he simply rolled his eyes even though there was an angry blush across his face.

"Actually I did" he said finally

Thatch's grin morphed into an expression of confusion. "You did?" He questioned

"You forgot more than just paperwork you know"

"I did?"

"Yes, you idiot. Now do you see why I had to come looking for you?"

Thatch's grin returned. He couldn't resist one last jab at his brother. "Nope!" he eyed his brother with faux suspicion "Are you sure that you're just not trying to avoid work?"

He just grinned unrepentantly at his brother, though if looks could kill he would be twelve feet under by now. The look Izo gave him back promised nothing but pain at a later date. Maybe his last comment had pushed it a little too far.

"For the last time, Thatch…" Izo practically growled.

There was a muffled sound that could have been a squeak, a snort, or an attempt to hold in laughter cut off. Izo turned on the source of the noise.

It was Ace, who was just standing there. In fact, by Thatch's assessment, he was attempting valiantly and failing to not react to the scene that had just been playing out in front of him. The expression on his face was rather amusing, Thatch decided before letting out a chuckle of his own. Ace looked like he couldn't decide if he was mildly uncomfortable watching the pair of them argue or if he was supposed to be laughing at the pair.

Izo clearly didn't appreciate it though as he snapped "And just what are you looking at?"

Ace, instead of cowering like any normal and sane person would have, just grinned. "The two of you." He snarked back and Thatch gaped. Did Ace have any sort of self-preservation instinct at all?

"Oh, really?" Izo drawled and that was when Thatch started to internally panic. He knew that tone. Bad things happened to those on the receiving end of it. He was going to have to do something, fast.

"Ace!" he said suddenly, as the idea came to him. "Meet my brother Izo. Izo, meet Ace."

Ace's eyebrow rose in confusion, and he glanced over at Thatch in what appeared to be an attempt to make sure that he hadn't misheard the introduction. Thatch nodded and hoped to hell he hadn't just made things worse as Izo had noticed the interaction and was currently bristling like a rather irritated cat at what he clearly perceived as an insult. Then just as suddenly as Ace's confusion had appeared, it vanished.

There was a small seemingly unconsciously shrug as Ace had just mentally said "eh whatever" about the entire situation and Ace stuck out his hand to Izo. "Hi," He said rather cheerfully. "I'm Ace. I like your kimono. Do you know what it's made of? Or where I could get my hands on some of the material?"

"Izo." Izo replied warily shaking Ace's hand all the while studying him rather intently.

Thatch, for his part was left floundering by the sudden change in conversation. Ace really was an enigma. He had given no inclination of any sort of interest in fashion during their conversation and his own clothing seemed to imply that he didn't particularly care for it either. If it wasn't for the confusion that could be found on Izo's face, Thatch would have sworn that he had misheard that last set of questions.

"Do you cross-dress as well?" was the first actual sentence that managed to work its way out of Thatch's mouth. Thatch then proceeded to wince for two different reasons: one his own lack of tact when addressing something as serious as that and because Izo had just kicked him in the shin.

Thankfully Ace didn't appear to be offended at all by the question. "Nah, it's cool and all; but not my shtick."

Thatch just continued to stare at his new friend, while Izo relaxed just a tad bit more. "Then why were you inquiring about the fabric?" Izo finally asked.

"It's not that weird of a question, is it?" Ace asked and suddenly Thatch couldn't breath as the absurdity of the situation struck him with a fit of giggles while Ace and Izo looked at him curiously.

"No, not particularly," Izo said giving the other a fairly obvious once over, "It's just well, you don't look as if you care about such a thing at all."

"I don't." Ace said bluntly, but a rather faint blush colored his cheeks all the same. " I don't even know that much about it but I've got a brother who really likes nice clothing and to look sharp, and well, the fabric that your kimono is made of looks like it'll last so I figure if I get him some, he can make an outfit out of it. Though only if there is some in another color, seeing as my brother doesn't really like pink."

"You're genuinely interested in the fabric?" Izo asked, almost as if he couldn't believe it, and Thatch knew that Izo had been sucked into the mystery that was Ace, the same way that he had.

"Yes?" Ace questioned as if he couldn't understand why this was garnering Izo's reaction.

Thatch supposed he probably couldn't. Quick on that thought's heels was another more alarming thought. Thatch just started to pray that what he now expected to happen wouldn't. Izo suddenly smiled. _No such luck_ Thatch thought, though he absently noticed that this was the first real smile that he had seen Izo give someone in months.

"Then yes, I know where you can get something similar." Izo declared grabbing on Ace's arm and started towing him towards another street. "Thatch, are you coming?" Izo called back. Thatch smiled and hurried to catch up as Izo hadn't bothered to wait for a response. "Now what colors does your brother prefer? Do you know what season he is?"

Ace's eyes grew wide and Thatch had to laugh at the slightly panicked and pleading look that he was. Apparently, Ace had just realized that he was in over his head. Unfortunately there was nothing Thatch could do to alter Izo's course when he got like this. They would both have to sit and bear it, though he could say with some certainty that this was definitely worth wasting an afternoon on especially if Izo cheered up.

Thatch, despite his initial misgivings, found he was enjoying himself. In and amongst all the shopping he was still having fun exchanging stories of all the trouble that his siblings had gotten into. Izo's presence only seemed to enhance the experience as he added some of his own recollections. It was surprising to him that Ace too had some stories about his brothers that could rival theirs for sheer craziness.

As the afternoon wound on Thatch started to notice that Ace seemed to find some of the stories familiar. He couldn't tell if Ace knew something about the events or if it just reminded him of things Ace's brothers had done. Thatch was inclined to believe the latter because Ace would inevitably, after one of these bouts of recognition, tell about something his brother's had done that was similar.

"Unfortunately," Thatch continued his story as he noticed another bit of recognition from Ace, "The board had rotted through, though no one knew that at the time."

"Fossa knew." Izo said. "He tried to warn you about it. If I remember correctly, you ignored it."

"Anyways" Thatch continued rolling his eyes, "My plan went off without a hitch, and the prank I had planned was executed perfectly until our older brother walked into the hallway."

"Which sibling was this?" Ace asked absently as he peered at the large clock tower in what looked like an attempt to read the time. "Is this the sibling who smokes, the guy who keeps random things in his pockets, or the magician?" It was clearly no good. The sun was directly in their eyes and they were just a bit to far away from the tower to make out the clock hands. _Why didn't he just check his transfract?_ Thatch wondered as Ace clearly gave finding out the time as a lost cause. Did he not have one? Apparently not, Thatch noted, as the other man gave a shrug then turned his attention back towards the conversation ready to hear the rest of the story. Well that was simply another thing to add to the list of confusing facts about Ace. Everyone owned a Transfract these days. Everyone except Ace apparently.

Pushing his list of oddities aside, Thatch was just about to go on when he noticed that Ace had spotted something in the crowd. As he watched Ace studied it for a second, then he grinned.

"Hey Thatch." Ace said still smirking, as he slipped his bag off of his shoulder.

"What's up?" Thatch asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

"I think I see someone I know in the crowd over there." Ace said gesturing vaguely towards a mess of people, "and I wanna surprise them. Watch my stuff for a second?"

Thatch blinked. "Sure man. Go for it."

"Thanks dude!" Ace said over his shoulder, as he started moving down the street.

"You've made yourself a rather interesting acquaintance." Izo commented wryly as the pair tracked Ace's path through the crowd, something that wasn't hard to do at all thanks to the vibrant orange hat he was wearing. To their amusement he slowed before darting into an alley only to peer out around the corner a moment later.

"Isn't he a hoot?" Thatch agreed. "I mean, look at this. Have you ever seen someone fail so badly at being sneaky?"

Izo hummed in agreement. It was true. For someone who was attempting to surprise a friend Ace was doing a remarkably poor job in remaining hidden. His 'sneaking' about, if one could even call it that, was having the opposite effect and was instead drawing stares and whispers from the people around him.

"Who do you think it is that he knows?" Thatch wondered aloud scanning the crowd. "Whoever it is, they have to be rather interesting. I mean, like attracts like right?"

Izo shrugged. "I honestly don't know. However I do think I see someone we know rather well" Izo said, scanning the crowd as well. "Thatch, isn't that Marco over there?" He asked pointing towards the section of the market. Another quick scan of the crowd let him know that Ace was still heading that direction.

Thatch peered into the distance. "What-dja-know, I think it is." His voice turned incredulous as he noticed what Izo had. "There is no way. Marco's not all that interesting."

Izo snorted, but offered no comment and Thatch turned to face him "Do you seriously think he's trying to sneak up on MARCO?"

Izo frowned as pieces of the puzzle that was Ace started to come together. "Thatch, someone told me earlier that the two of you were arguing about sandwiches. Why?"

"Huh? Oh well, because Ace works in a sandwich shop out in the Border."

"Shit."

"What?"

"Thatch, that means Ace is Marco's friend from Outskirts. As in the guy we've been speculating and teasing him about liking for clicks."

"Ok?"

"Thatch, you know how Marco reacts to surprises, and the guy he likes just asked us to watch his stuff so that he can go surprise Marco!"

Thatch blinked before swearing a blue streak. "Come on. We have to stop him!"

* * *

Marco had no clue as to what was happening. He had been chasing his brothers all over the fourth district for little over an hour now, from a grill to a spice market then to a fabric market. From there he tracked them to pastry supply store, to liquor market to a different spice market before he finally found them. He had just caught a glimpse of his brothers talking to someone he couldn't see before the crowd blocked his view. When he could see them again Thatch and Izo had lost their conversation partner, turned around and were looking in his direction though it was apparent by their expressions that they hadn't noticed him yet.

He started moving toward them occasionally losing sight of them due to the sheer numbers of people. Luckily they didn't seem to be moving. He hadn't even made it half way towards them when the crowd parted and he could see that their expressions had changed.

Marco had no time to figure out what the expressions which would most likely tell him why they had changed when someone came at him from the side. He didn't bother to think about it, instead letting muscle memory and instinct take over. He turned into the attack in order to meet it head on and get a hand in his attacker's shirt. Taking a couple of steps back Marco turned again, pivoting, his other arm coming up underneath his attackers arm into the armpit before Marco dropped to throw whoever it was that was stupid enough to attack him over his shoulder. They went over with a rather familiar sounding _Whoop!_ Marco followed up his throw and pinned his attacker to the ground only to find himself staring down at a rather familiar freckled face.

"Ace?" he questioned, even more confused than he had been before. Of course the goofball underneath him didn't help matters. Seemingly unperturbed by the fact that he had just been thrown and landed hard enough to knock the wind out of him Ace was beaming up at him.

"Hi Marco!"

Marco blinked, still working on figuring out what was going on. Finally he sighed and smiled wryly. "Is this going to be a common occurrence?"

Ace hummed softly as if contemplating the question. Neither had noticed that they had yet to let go of one another. "Maybe?" Ace finally said. "I mean, I certainly hope not though. I don't particularly fancy ending up on the floor every time I try to give you a hug."

"What?" Marco asked, looking down at Ace confusion across his face not entirely sure he had heard the other man correctly

"What?" Ace asked back, apparently just as confused as Marco was, though Marco had no doubt that it was for entirely different reasons

"What?" asked a third voice and Marco looked up to see Thatch standing next to him, carrying a couple of unfamiliar green striped bags.

"Why are you all asking the same question?" Izo asked sliding up behind Thatch. "Ace dear, had you told us you knew Marco, I could have warned you that this was a bad idea."

"Eh, no harm no foul." Ace said. He was still lying on the ground. Marco scrambled off him then moved to help his friend up. "Besides," Ace continued "It was fun."

That drew stares from all three of the commanders.

"Getting flipped then slammed to the ground in the middle of a market is fun?" Izo finally asked, disbelief coloring his tone.

"Well, I'm not hurt, so yeah." Ace said, craning his head to get a look at his back assessing the level of dust he'd acquired.

"Were you dropped on your head one too many times as a child? Because I've been taken down by Marco before and I can assure you that it's not all that fun," Thatch stated gruffly.

"Not to my knowledge." Ace replied as he started brushing off the dust. He had managed to get most of it save one spot in the middle of his back which resulted in him attempting to twist himself around in order to reach it though it appeared futile. Ace simply didn't appear to be flexible enough.

Marco just chuckled softly as he reached out a hand to get the spot Ace had missed. "I'm honestly not sure why I was surprised that you consider tackling people an appropriate greeting. I've heard your stories about what you and your brothers got up to."

Ace just grinned at him unrepentant and a bit gleeful. "You don't even know the half of it."

"Were you just out for a stroll, Marco or was there something you needed?" Izo asked and Marco looked over at his brother meeting the other's narrowed eyes.

Marco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He would have liked to spend more time with Ace, but he had a job to do. "Pops sent me to find you two. He's waiting on us to start."

"Pops?" Ace piped up, confusion across his face for anyone to see.

"Yep." Marco replied, "Congratulations. You've somehow managed to meet two of my siblings."

"You're related?" Ace said, shooting looks at all three of them, before starting to laugh. "Then the stories were about…? That explains…" Ace cut himself off due to laughter and after a moment Thatch joined in as well. Marco and Izo shared a look of bewilderment, but Izo simply shrugged in response to Marco's unspoken question. Eyes narrowed Marco turned to his laughing brother.

"Thatch…" Marco said dangerously, "What stories have you been telling?"

The tone was enough to make Thatch stop and a rather innocent expression appeared on his face. "Oh, nothing important."

Marco didn't buy it. At that statement Ace had started laughing even harder, to the point where he had collapsed against Marco in his mirth. Yeah no. He didn't buy it one bit. Thatch clearly had been telling tales about him.

"You said Pops was waiting for us?" Thatch asked, eyes seeking Izo pleading for help.

Izo caught the hint and rolled his eyes in response. "We had probably better go then, if that's the case. It was nice to meet you Ace."

Marco realized he was in trouble as he saw the expression on Izo's face. He almost groaned in aggravation. Now that they had met there would be no way to escape the inquisition that Izo and his other brothers were going to unleash about Ace and how Marco felt about him.

Izo smirked at him in response as if he knew exactly what Marco was thinking.

Thankfully, instead of questioning Marco in public Izo simply continued on, "Come on, Thatch."

"If either of you are ever out in Outskirts, stop by for a sandwich some time." Ace said as he finally got his laughter under control.

"I will!" Thatch promised. "I want to try one of these weird sandwiches of yours."

"They aren't that weird." Ace protested

"Yes they are." Marco chuckled but made no move to follow his brothers. He was enjoying simply being in Ace's presence and a comfortable silence fell as they watched the other pair head on their way.

After a moment, Izo turned and shot Marco a look that clearly read _Are you coming?_ and Marco sighed again.

"I have to go." He said as a rush of jealousy for how his brothers had spent their afternoon almost overwhelmed him.

"No worries." Ace said with a smile, scooping up the green-stripped bags Marco had first seen with Thatch. "You have work to do. And I have errands that I have to finish. I get it. It was interesting meeting your family though."

"Sorry." Marco apologized, though he couldn't say why he was doing so.

Ace laughed. "No worries. I know brothers can be a pain."

"You haven't even met all of them."

"Oh that's right, you have a rather large family don't you."

"I do." Marco said, wishing once more that he could stay. Unfortunately, that wasn't feasible at all. "I really have to go though. I'll see you later?" Marco asked and Ace nodded. However before he could walk away a hand tugged at his sleeve and Marco turned back to look at his friend.

"Before you go…" Ace said slightly hesitant, as he scuffed his shoe against the ground. "I need to say thanks."

"For what?" Marco asked, confused.

"For the warning you gave a couple of weeks ago and my actions then. The Hunt reached Outskirts today, and because of that, well, I was able to save a couple of really close friends. And I was a dick when you first brought it up. So, I'm sorry about that, and thanks. I really appreciate it," Ace repeated before stepping closer and giving Marco a proper hug.

"You're welcome." Marco said returning the hug. Ace gave him a quick squeeze then stepped away and Marco almost frowned at the loss of contact. He didn't want to leave quite yet, and he didn't think Ace did either. "Out of curiosity," he asked quickly, "What stories did Thatch tell you?"

The question caused Ace to start laughing again. "Nothing much." He said, chuckling. "just this and that. And…"

"And?"

The grin on Ace's face was pure evil. "Pineapples."

Marco groaned, good humor gone. Why did his brother always insist upon telling that story? "Right. That's it. Sorry Ace, I don't think Thatch is going to make it to the Bar."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "No? Why not?"

"Well" Marco said annoyance evident in his voice "You see, I'm going to kill him."

Ace just kept chuckling. "You're going to have to catch up with him first" he said pointing and Marco realized just how far behind his brothers he now was.

"True" He said with a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Your normal time?"

"Probably."

"It's a date." Ace said with a grin, which Marco returned before rushing to catch up to Thatch and Izo. It wouldn't do to have them return to the Moby without him when he had been the one to go and collect the wayward pair in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, for something completely different! Well, no not really. I just wanted to make a monty python reference. If you've read any of my other works then you know that this is simply me asking for your attention one final time as I request and hope that you'll leave me a review letting me know what you think of the story. If you spot any spelling or grammatical errors, please feel free to let me know. If you dont understand something, be it a word or how something happened again please let me know. I really want to know what yall think of this.


	8. Storm on the Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which redheads appear and cause no end of confusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I thought I would switch things up and start with my thanks so I wish to thank the magnificent Ktwontwo. They have been an absolute gem and beta'ed this chapter for me. Seriously guys you should go check out their stuff. Its phenomenal and you definitely wont regret it. I know I keep saying that, but its the truth.
> 
> The fantastically amazing absolutely outstanding awesome Idaida on tumblr is responsible for the lovely cover art. Thank you again for choosing my story in the 2016 OP Big Bang. It was a pleasure to work with you! To all of you readers who are lamenting the fact that you cant make out much detail never fear! Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds
> 
> Im so happy that you all are liking this. Seriously. Im not sure you all understand how happy it makes me to hear from you all. Its nice to know that you all like my story to the point that it makes you all crack up. Its really nice to know that my end goal, because that was my end goal, was achieved in the last chapter. Unfortunately this chapter is not quite as amusing as things are going to start getting rather serious but hey, we all knew that the good times would come to an end at some point. As such I had to update the warnings, but I figure I shall repeat the change here. If non consensual drug use bothers you, then you may want to skip this chapter because it is mentioned. And in other interesting news, this chapter, or well this scene is the scene that started the entire story. Seriously the story started because I wanted to know what would happen if one character, who makes his first appearance in this chapter, walked into a bar where the other two characters were having lunch.
> 
> Anyway, enough chit chat and onto the story!

Having lived as long as he had meant that Marco's instincts were very, very good and almost never wrong. Normally this was a blessing. He had been able to tell whenever something was going to go wrong and help everyone prepare for the worst. Recently however, Marco was willing to consider his highly developed instincts as a curse.

For the past three days or so starting almost immediately after the meeting that they'd had, the same day he had run into Ace in the market, his instincts had been going haywire. It had made him rather paranoid. Twitchy as his brothers called it. He hadn't thought it was that bad but the fact that his brother's had commented meant that he was acting different from normal. Marco had bowed to the inevitable had let Pops know just in case. He had no real way to explain what he was feeling but he had tried his best. Pops had just given him a knowing look and told him to stop scaring his brothers.

Eventually he had managed to narrow down the feeling to something similar to a storm approaching on the horizon, one that would shake the world. It was unsettling as the last time Marco had felt anything even remotely similar had been when Roger died and Ohara had burned. Unlike those times, there was nothing that directly appeared to be the cause of this feeling. So instead, Marco simply decided that it was all the fault of the tall redhead who had just stepped through the doorway to the S'andwich Bar. The fact that he was in the area was in and of itself enough to make his instincts go haywire.

_"So does anyone have any earth shattering revelations to add to this meeting?" Thatch asked in a slightly joking matter._

_"I've got something." Blenheim said and Thatch groaned._

_"I was being sarcastic!" He complained, "What is with it lately that we can't go even one meeting without some sort of dramatic proclamation?"_

_Marco simply rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. "The only one being dramatic here is you Thatch."_

_"Says the person who started it all!" Thatch fired back and Marco raised an eyebrow._

_"Pardon?" he inquired, but before the bickering could devolve any further Blenheim spoke up again._

_"Sorry to disappoint, but its not dramatic Thatch. I just need to know what Pops wants me to do."_

_"Hrm?" Whitebeard rumbled "About what?"_

_"About the drunkard that my patrol picked up from the Entertainment District, last night."_

_"What about him?"_

_"Well, first off, no one knows who he is. He's not one of our people and he didn't come in with any of the caravans recently. I checked."_

_"He wasn't just drunk." Jiru spoke up and Marco looked at his brother in mild confusion before he remembered that the other had been on the Jail Shift last night._

_"He wasn't?" Blenheim asked. "Was he on something?"_

_"Based on what I saw when you handed him off to me looked like he was having a bad trip. Whether or not he took the stuff willingly is a different matter." Jiru said._

_"Well that would explain some of his behavior. If he was having a bad trip it could even explain the nonsense he was shouting about how he was a messenger and that he had a message for Whitebeard and how a herd of psychedelic polka dotted pachyderms were not going to stop him from doing his job." There was muffled laughter as everyone took that in and Blenheim glared at his siblings but cracked a smile himself. "I just wanted to know what you wanted us to do with him."_

_Whitebeard hrmmed in thought and Marco peered at him attempting to figure out what action his father would take. Many of his siblings thought that simply because Marco had been with Whitebeard for the longest amount of time that he actually understood what Pops was thinking at any given moment. While he could guess correctly more often than not Pops had a mind that worked incredibly fast processing large amounts of disparate information into a coherent whole. In fact, the way he came to conclusions from the strangest clues and still managed to be right more often than not was reminiscent of that storybook detective and his older brother._

_Most of the time Marco simply counted it a win when he figured out the general direction of Whitebeard's next strategy, not that Marco would ever let any of his siblings know that. No what his siblings took for prescience was the simple fact that he had more practice at rolling with whatever Whitebeard came up with and a damn good poker face. The combination, of course, tended to reinforce the impression that Whitebeard's decisions never ever took him by surprise._

_If he was honest with himself, Marco had almost given up attempting to figure out his father's reasoning behind much of anything years ago. He had long accepted the fact that where he only saw seven to eight different paths or reasons for any one action, Whitebeard more often than not saw anywhere between twenty to twenty five. This was just one of the reasons the World Collective hated him. He always could out maneuver even their best strategists. That didn't even mention the fact he had managed to take and hold such large tracks of land and that his sphere of influence extended even into territory nominally held by WC._

_"You may as well bring him here" Whitebeard finally rumbled, and more than one head in the room turned to stare at him._

_Rakuyo stood and exited the room, presumably to execute the order. It didn't take long for the silence that had enveloped the room to become stifling. Marco, however, didn't mind it at all as he tried to figure out Whitebeard's reasoning behind that instruction. After what they had learned only recently having the messenger brought to their meeting room didn't appear to make much sense. After a moment's more thought Marco smiled as he realized what was going on. Pops was playing a dangerous but much needed game. Far be it from him to do anything to jeopardize it._

_He didn't realize that his siblings hadn't understood the reasons behind the directions until a rather confused voice piped up "Pops?" seeking an explanation for what they had just been told. Maybe his siblings had been on to something after all._

_The silence returned as Whitebeard surveyed the room, taking a moment to make eye contact with all present. When Marco met his gaze, he was slightly shocked to see the proud glint enter Whitebeard's eyes as he realized that Marco had already figured out what was going on._

_Turning back to the room he addressed the group. "I understand your worry my children. I too am aware that this may be an assassination attempt put forth by any one of our numerous enemies. However this is exactly why we need to speak to this man and we need to do it here. If it truly is a plot of some sort, then we need to show the rest of the territories that despite the betrayal we still are able to handle anything that they choose to throw at us. On the off chance that this man legitimately is a messenger then we need to hear him out. It might be important. Regardless of how it plays out we will be able to handle it just fine. I have faith in you all."_

_It was funny, Marco mused; just a few simple words from their father could turn the entire mood of the room. In the few moments that Whitebeard had taken to explain his reasoning the people present had changed from a large group of paranoid worried men and women to the confident, self assured, focused group that the rest of the world knew to be the Commanders of Whitebeard's Enforcers._

_A knock on the door prevented the room from descending back into friendly sibling bickering that generally occurred at meetings of the entire command. Marco was a bit relieved to see that he wasn't the only one who gave the door a curious look. The door wasn't locked and commanders didn't knock. Then he spotted Vista, who at some time in the last few minutes had quietly got up from his chair and was now leaning against the wall a smug look on his face. He clearly knew something and it was his crew who had charge of the brig today. This was theater then. Vista always did have a bent for the dramatic. Luckily, Marco thought, this would play right into Whitebeard's strategy._

_"Yes?" Boomed Whitebeard._

_The door opened revealing two members of Rakyuo's division trailed by Rakyuo himself, escorting a very strange person, even by their standards into the room._

_"The messenger, Pops." The silver haired one of the two said with a lazy smile._

_"Thanks Gin." Whitebeard grinned and nodded._

_When it was clear that they weren't needed for anything more Gin and his partner left, shutting the door behind them. Rykuyo leaned against the wall directly opposite Vista effectively flanking the alleged messenger. Yep, Marco thought, quasi-improvisational theater._

_"Welcome to the Territory, kid." Whitebeard rumbled at the newcomer, "Take a seat and lets hear what you've got to say."_

_The stranger remained standing where he was then scoffed. "I'm not a kid and I'd rather stand thanks."_

_All movement in the room stilled as the commanders collectively took a serious look at the self-proclaimed messenger. Their faces reflected varying degrees of outrage and hostility. Marco could almost hear the thoughts: Scruffy bastard, Ballsy, Obnoxious, Full of himself and Who the hell does he think he is to dare talk to their father like that? Marco himself was impressed. Whoever this guy was he wasn't easily cowed. Whitebeard, Marco confirmed with a glance, didn't seem to be offended. No, he looked more amused. He also wasn't really doing anything to diffuse the situation. Which meant, Marco concluded, that Pops wanted to see exactly what this messenger was going to do._

_To everyone's surprise the man did not react to the level of hostility that was directed at him. Instead he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he had let it out again his body language was more relaxed although still rather guarded._

_"Sorry." He said though his tone of voice didn't sound it much at all._

_"What for?" Jozu wanted to know_

_"That…" he gestured with his hand indicating his previous comment. "You didn't deserve that and I was explicitly told to play nice. I'm just frustrated because I'm way behind schedule, I remember very little of last night, and I just woke up in a holding cell."_

_"I can see how that would be frustrating." Vista offered and the other man just nodded._

_"So who are you?" Izo asked rather impatiently "Why do you need to play nice and do you actually have a message for us?"_

_"Right business then. I go by Rockstar, and yes I actually have a message for you. I was told to play nice because I was assured that you wouldn't like who it's from." Rockstar said with a nasty grin that did nothing to lessen the tension in the room._

_Marco glanced at his siblings out of the corner of his eye. None of them had heard of this Rockstar although from the way he had given his name Marco assumed that he certainly felt that they should have known exactly who he was._

_"Your message?" Whitebeard rumbled_

_The nasty grin grew. "Shanks says hello. He's going to be in the area for personal reasons in a few days and figured that he should let you know."_

_A rather heavy silence followed that pronouncement as if no one was quite sure how to react. Marco frowned. It hadn't been what they had initially supposed but in his books this was just as bad. Completely unaware that a good majority of the room had turned to stare at him, he put a hand over his eyes and let out a rather annoyed groan. That was apparently all everyone was waiting for and the room erupted into laughter. Marco put his hand down then glared at his siblings, which simply caused them to laugh harder. He huffed leaning back in his chair determined to ignore the ruckus keeping his attention on Rockstar who by this point was looking rather bewildered at reaction. It clearly was not what he had been told to expect, but did his best to forge ahead anyways._

_He bent down, fiddled with his boot for a moment then came up with a small scroll of papers. He offered them up to the room. "I was also supposed to give you this."_

_"What is it?" Jozu wanted to know but Rockstar simply shrugged._

_"Don't know. I'm just supposed to deliver this to Whitebeard."_

_"Keep it." Whitebeard rumbled, his voice carrying clearly over the snickers that hadn't completely died down._

_"What?" Rockstar gaped at the larger man._

_"I don't want it."_

_"But…"_

_Marco snickered softly under his breath as Rockstar visibly floundered for something to say, some reason to convince Whitebeard to take the documents._

_"But it's important!" He finally cried out._

_Whitebeard shrugged. "Don't care. If whatever that is, is so damn important then Shanks can come deliver it himself if he's going to be in the area anyways. It's been a while since I've seen that brat."_

_Rockstar blinked and then sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll tell him. Is there anything else? If not, then I'm outta here."_

_"Actually, yes." Jiru said._

_"What now?" Rockstar demanded._

_"What's the last thing you remember from last night?" Jiru asked_

_"That's none of your business." Rockstar countered_

_"Actually it is." Blenheim stated._

_"Why the hell would it be?"_

_"Because you were picked up last night for being a public nuisance and when they brought you in you appeared to be having a bad trip, dumbass." Jiru snapped. "I don't care if you took that shit yourself but if you didn't, we need to know."_

_Rockstar blinked looking a little like an owl that had suddenly been hit with a bright light. That look wasn't good. It led Marco to believe this Rockstar guy knew he'd been drugged with something but had hoped that the Enforcers would pass it off as him being drunk._

_"Shit." Rockstar whispered and shook his head. Apparently that motion was too much for his current condition and the blood rushed out of his face giving him a rather waxy complexion. "Fucking hell, that explains a lot. I don't use. Anything. Ever. Someone slipped me something. Fuck!"_

_Marco didn't buy it. No, Rockstar knew he'd been slipped something but didn't want them to know that he knew. Marco watched carefully as the other man glanced about the room. He was looking for some sort of specific reaction and he wasn't getting it._

_"What the fuck is going on here that none of you are surprised by the fact that I was drugged, probably with some sort of Babble?" He finally burst out._

_No one bothered to answer. It wasn't any of his business. Instead, Blenheim beat Marco to the punch about the second part of Rockstar's statement._

_"How do you know you were dosed with Babble? You were completely out of it when we brought you in."_

_Rockstar was still rather pale but managed to muster up the energy to glare at the other man, "I'm going to assume I was loud, violent, and shouting nonsense?" At Blenheim's nod he continued, "Coupled with the weird ass taste in my mouth, the memory loss and the fact that my hearing still sounds as if I'm underwater, that's the only explanation for it."_

_Marco blinked. That was an oddly specific set of characteristics to look for._

_Apparently Jiru felt the same. "How does that particular list of experiences tell you that you were dosed with Babble? That stuff is a memory suppressant and I know a number of compounds that'll give the same symptoms when mixed with alcohol."_

_Rockstar switched his angry gaze. "Personal experience. Trust me, when you've been doused with crap as many times as I have you tend to remember what waking up afterwards feels like."_

_There was silence in the room. "You've been slipped drugs often enough that you can identify what you were given based on your actions the night before and how you feel in the morning?" Jiru asked, a dangerous note in his voice. It was clear to everyone in the room that he somehow found Shanks responsible for this._

_"Yes." Rockstar said shortly. He too had caught the implied insult and wasn't very happy about it. Before either of the men could say anything that would potentially spark a fight Marco intervened._

_"Babble is primarily a truth serum isn't it?" Marco asked. "Is any of whatever information that you were supposed to pass on compromised?"_

_Instead of bristling as expected Rockstar grinned, "Not a chance."_

_Marco raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"_

_"First off, I don't know what I was carrying. Secondly, Babble doesn't work correctly on me."_

_"But…" Someone else in the room protested, "You said you don't remember anything."_

_Rockstar rolled his eyes but didn't loose the grin. "Ok, well that part works. Whatever makes it a truth serum? That shit turns me into a compulsive liar. Not to mention the fact I still had the papers."_

_"Interesting." Marco said._

_Rockstar shrugged. "Its one of the reasons I carry messages."_

_"One of the reasons?" Jiru asked_

_"There are others," Rockstar acknowledged, "but they're not any business of yours."_

_"Right," Jiru said. "Moving on, mind telling us why you were at a bar in the first place?"_

_Rockstar hummed as if debating on what he was going to do. Finally he answered, "I ran into a friend. I owed him a drink."_

_"You were here on business though," Curiel pointed out, speaking up for the first time._

_"So?" Rockstar asked rather confused_

_"So you stopped to have a drink with a friend instead of finishing your job?" Curiel demanded, outraged at the idea that this messenger of Shanks thought one of his friends was more important than their father._

_Marco hid his amusement at the fact that Rockstar apparently had no idea he'd just insulted Whitebeard in front of his entire chain of command._

_Rockstar blinked, "Have you never mixed business with pleasure?" he asked curiously making the entire situation ten times worse. Curiel glowered at this idiot and Marco shook his head slowly. It was bad enough that Rockstar had acknowledged that he'd blown off his duties to get a drink with a friend but blowing off their father to get laid then admitting it? That took balls and Marco shared an amused look with his father before he intervened again._

_"Does this friend have a name?" Marco questioned, moving the conversation forward and giving the rest of his siblings time to realize that their father wasn't mad and they could ignore what they had all just perceived as an insult._

_Rockstar looked at Marco as if he was stupid, "Yeah, they've got a name."_

_"Mind sharing it?" he pushed. They needed this name at the bare minimum to confirm Rockstar's story. As of right now they only had the Barkeeper as a potential witness._

_"Yes, actually," Rockstar snapped out._

_Well that hadn't been expected, "Why?"_

_"Because its none of your damn business, that's why," Rockstar replied for the third time that afternoon._

_"You know," Jozu said adding his rumbling voice to the conversation, "you're awfully fond of saying that and each time it has turned out to be our business."_

_Rockstar crossed his arms and rolled his eyes again, "Well this time it's definitely not any of your business."_

_"Because?"_

_"My friend doesn't even live here!" Rockstar exclaimed. "He does his own thing! Hell, I was surprised to see him. He's not in the area often."_

_"He's not?" Curiel asked._

_"No! He's not! Look, I dragged him to Jim's Place when I saw him cause I owed the man a drink and I wanted to catch up. We talked then he had to go. After saying goodbye, I went to finish my beer and after that I've got nothing. There is no way in hell I'm giving you his name. It wouldn't be very friendly to send you lot to harass him especially after seeing him for the first time in years!"_

_"Jim's Place?" Fossa cut in, but Thatch answered before anyone else could._

_"He means Moriarty's."_

_"Oh. And you're sure you don't know anything else?" Fossa added turning to face Rockstar._

_"I don't know what you want me to say!" Rockstar exclaimed throwing his hands in the air "I don't remember jack shit. I've done what I was tasked to do. If you won't take the information then I'm out of here. I need to find the Caravan because I doubt they waited for me." He stuffed the papers into his jacket; patience clearly running out. He glared at the room as if daring them to stop him. Fortunately he did have enough sense to not leave before he was dismissed. "Are we done here?" He demanded._

_Whitebeard chuckled and nodded, "You are free to go. Pass my message along to Shanks."_

_Rockstar didn't say anything but simply shot the room at large another glare as he walked out._

_"Well," Blenheim drawled as the doors closed "Was that dramatic enough for you, Thatch?"_

Yes, Marco decided as he took a bite of his sandwich still watching the group that had entered, it was all Shanks' fault. But that wasn't the most pressing concern at the moment. His more immediate problem was going to be figuring out how to get out of here before Shanks or one of his companions noticed his presence. Why the hell was Shanks here anyways? Marco wondered absently. What business did he have in a small Border town's sandwich shop?

He glanced over at Ace who was sitting directly across the table from him to see if his friend had any clues as to what in the hell was going on. He wasn't much help, though to Marco's surprise, he was much tenser than he had been earlier. The reason for which clocked Marco over the head in a manner reminiscent of a 2 by 4. Ace had no clue who had just entered the Bar as his back was to the door. No, Ace was taking all of his cues from him.

Marco blinked and shook his head slightly. Ace now knew him well enough to pick up on his moods even when he was suppressing his reactions. Ace also was ready to act solely because Marco was tense. The amount of trust that implied was staggering. Before he could do more than think it was a good thing that Ace would be wary around this particular group of people he noticed a curious stare from the group by the door. Apparently his small headshake had attracted the attention of the very people he had wished to avoid. _Crap._ He decided to hide his grimace with a bite of sandwich. It wouldn't do to give Shanks and company any more ammunition if he chose to make something of this.

He mentally braced himself for what was to come. There was no way, Marco thought, that Shanks would let this opportunity go. He knew the man all too well. One way or another Marco knew he was up a creek and once he spotted the aggravating grin on Shanks's face he knew his fate was sealed. He chewed the mouth full of sandwich silently cursing the fact that Shanks knew him as well as he knew Shanks. The grin got wider. The bastard was taking his time drawing out the awkward tension.

Marco redirected his attention elsewhere. That would force Shanks to react and make the first move. He ended up looking over at Ace again who was faking being relaxed remarkably well. Marco wondered how exactly he was doing that when he could tell that Ace was wound tighter than a spring, ready to take whoever he thought was posing a threat to his establishment.

"So THIS is where you've been!" Shanks exclaimed joyfully as he walked towards the table at which Marco sat with Ace.

That implied that he'd already been by the territory and spoken to Pops Marco realized as he put his sandwich down; better have both hands free for this. Before he could make any sort of reply his attention was caught by Ace who had let go of all of the tension that he had been holding and was now looking utterly relaxed. Marco was flabbergasted. Did Ace actually know the Red Emperor?

As he watched, Ace leaned back in his chair causing the front two legs to lift off the ground and his head lolled back so that he had a clear, albeit upside-down, view of the man approaching. "Where else would I be?" Ace retorted, apparently entirely unaware that the statement hadn't been directed at him. "I live here now."

"I knew that, Kiddo." Shanks said stopping just behind Ace beaming down at the younger man as if that had been his intention all along. "Makino told me. Sorry I haven't made it out to visit before now. How are your brothers? And where are they by the way?"

 _Well, that answered that question_ , Marco thought watching the interaction that was playing out right across the table in front of him. Ace did know Shanks; as did his brothers. Hmmm. Marco wasn't as good as Pops but he could put two and two together. The fact that Ace had been in the markets the same day Rockstar had been drugged along with the fact that Shanks had shown up here of all places, well that meant that Ace had most likely been the friend that Rockstar had treated to a drink. Rockstar had probably been also tasked in letting Ace know that Shanks and company were going to be in the area. Running into Ace in the market allowed Rockstar to kill two birds with one stone. It was interesting, Marco mused, that Shanks thought enough of Ace and his brothers to alert them to his presence. It was clear that there was some sort of a relationship and Marco was thankful that it was enough to distract Shanks from messing with him.

"Luffy's out on an adventure." Ace shrugged but Marco caught the slight undertone of worry present in his voice "And Sabo's asleep. He has bar shift. Y'all sticking around for that or just for a late lunch?"

"Kid, we came to visit the three of you. If Sabo's got the bar tonight, then we're staying to say hello at the bare minimum. But," he grinned down at Ace before glancing up at Marco only for a second, "I won't say no to a late lunch if you don't mind me joining you."

"Not at all." Ace invited.

Marco hid a grimace with another bite of his sandwich. He did mind very much. He also knew that Shanks knew his general feelings on the matter. Unfortunately, there was no way he could get out of this without doing anything that would make Ace or anyone else in the bar suspicious about his motives. That would lead to a whole set of questions that he really didn't want to answer. Besides, Shanks and Ace were apparently close. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of relationship the two of them had. This was a perfect opportunity to observe and maybe get some decent information about Shanks for a change.

"Right. Benn, order for me? Please?" Shanks said, slipping into the chair next to Ace's.

"Shanks, stop being so goddamn lazy and get your own bloody sandwich." Benn Beckman said from where he was waiting in the line.

He happened to be behind a couple of the other men from the caravan that Marco recognized. At the counter was Lucky Roo, presumably not his real name, and behind him was a Sharpshooter named Yasopp. Marco puzzled over that for a second. Those three men were practically the entire chain of command of the Red Caravan. For them all to be here meant that something serious was afoot.

"But I want to spend time with the kid! Its been _years_ Benn!" Shanks stated in a tone was close to but not quite a whine.

"And I told you to stop calling me a kid years ago Shanks," Ace retorted.

He was promptly ignored while Benn replied over him, "And it's been just as long since the rest of us have seen him. You're not the only one who wants a chance to catch up you know."

"Please?" Shanks pleaded and there was a momentary silence then a sigh as Benn apparently relented.

"You owe me for this."

"I know." Shanks beamed and Marco nearly groaned as he turned his attention back to the table.

Ace had also returned to his lunch and had resumed his normal procedure of devouring an obnoxious amount of food while chuckling at the byplay.

"Glad we still amuse you, Freckles," Shanks commented fondly.

Ace swallowed and beamed, "You guys will never fail to amuse me."

"We're pretty hilarious aren't we?" Shanks asked, but Ace didn't answer.

Shanks just chuckled at his own comment and Marco resigned himself to dealing with the Red Emperor's annoying sense of humor.

When he stopped chuckling Shanks propped his elbow on the table and shot Marco a wicked grin. "Soooo Ace" he drawled "Why don't you introduce me to your friend?"

* * *

 

"See you later Marco!" Ace called as Marco exited the S'andwich Bar.

His farewell caused Marco to look back into the room and Ace was pleased to note the expression on his face. Instead of the bored and slightly annoyed expression that he had been hiding since Shanks had joined them, there was a small but true smile present and Ace couldn't help but beam back. With a silent wave Marco was out the door and gone.

Ace turned back to the table only to find Shanks studying him with a rather bemused expression on his face.

"What?" Ace asked. After a couple of seconds it was pretty clear that no answer would be forthcoming. "So," he continued intending on asking what exactly had brought Shanks and the rest of the guys out this way. Rockstar hadn't been terribly forthcoming when they had run into each other in the territory. Instead what came out of his mouth was something that he'd been wondering about from the moment that he had noticed Marco's tension. It had only made him more curious when Shanks had started in teasing Marco and Marco kept snarking right back, "What's up with you and Marco?"

Shanks' silence persisted for another moment before he lost all composure and burst out laughing. Ace crossed his arms and scowled as he waited for the other to stop. Normally he would have joined in on the laughter but not this time. Not when he suspected he was the brunt of the joke, and not a part of it. This suspicion was confirmed moments later when Shanks finally had appeared to get himself under control but looked up, caught sight of Ace's face and burst out laughing again.

Benn's quiet chuckles added to the mix and Ace turned, the look of betrayal evident upon his face. Benn shook his head though the chuckles did cease. He looked like he wasn't going to offer any explanation either.

"You might want to get your brother. We actually had a reason for visiting other than to annoy Whitebeard and his First Division Commander. You did know that he was the First Division Commander of Whitebeard's Enforcers right?" Benn asked.

Ace raised an eyebrow declining to answer that question but Benn understood anyways. "Of course you do. So why'd you introduce him as a merchant scout?" Benn wanted to know

Ace shrugged, "Everyone needs a place where they can just be themselves. Marco's happens to be here."

Benn and Shanks both nodded and Ace knew they understood that a lot more than one would assume at first appearance. It fact, it had been because Shanks and Benn had been seeking such a place themselves that had lead to their initial meeting in the first place. Still, Shanks' expression turned serious, "No one's been giving you shit about that sort of thing have they?"

Ace grinned. It was always nice to see that the man whom Ace saw as something of an older brother, if he would ever admit to such a thing, cared.

"This is my place. No one here knows except Sabo and Luffy so the only shit I deal with comes from my own brain and even that's been less frequent."

"Good for you, kid," Shanks said.

Ace rolled his eyes, "I'm twenty seven for crying out loud. I haven't been a kid by anyone's standards for years, Shanks."

"It's a fact of life Freckles. The fact that I'm 39 or that Marco's 34 hasn't stopped his pops from calling us brats for years."

Ace shrugged, "That's different. Anyways you wanted me to wake Sabo? Whatever your passing on is that serious then?" Ace asked as he pushed away from the table.

Benn nodded grimly, "Unfortunately."

"Right," Ace nodded, "I'll go get him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting serious. If you all could let me know what you think of this that would be nice!


	9. 00 Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secret Agent man makes an appearance and Marco learns more than he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look guys Im early! Before I begin, I wish to thank the magnificent Ktwontwo. They have been an absolute gem and beta'ed this chapter for me. Seriously guys you should go check out their stuff. Its phenomenal and you definitely wont regret it. I know I keep saying that, but its the truth.
> 
> The fantastically amazing absolutely outstanding awesome Idaida on tumblr is responsible for the lovely cover art. Thank you again for choosing my story in the 2016 OP Big Bang. It was a pleasure to work with you! To all of you readers who are lamenting the fact that you cant make out much detail never fear! Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds
> 
> So here's a slightly early update! This is for two reasons. One I got unbearably excited about a couple of reviews I got and I kept thinking about things and ended up deciding to post slightly early. Secondly, Im gonna be hella busy this weekend when I would normally post so I figured that I would do so early in an attempt to still get the chapter out on time. For those who live in the Americas and are celebrating this holiday weekend (Canada & America) please be mindful in your celebrations of vets and pets and please keep yourself safe with all of the alcohol that I know is being consumed. For those who are not in these areas, I hope yall are having a wonderful weekend. I think this is the last of the major set up chapters before serious things start happening. Many things start happening. Its gonna be glorious.

“Marco?”

“Hrm?” Marco said not looking up from the pile of paperwork that he was currently attempting to make a dent in. No matter what he did it seemed that the minute he left his office the pile multiplied in size magically before he got back even if he just went down the hall for a minute or two.

“You’ve got a visitor.”

That got his attention and Marco looked up just in time to see Thatch, who was wearing a pensive mildly annoyed expression, settle into a chair in front of him.

“What?” He asked sure that he had misheard.

Thatch went on talking, “Some prissy pretentious jackass is downstairs demanding to talk to you.”

Marco blinked, “Why?”

“Don’t know. He won’t say. He’s not saying much of anything actually, just that he needs to talk to you and it’s of the utmost importance.”

“Well show him in then and I’ll figure out what he wants.”

“You really want to talk to this twat?” Thatch asked incredulously

“No?” Marco said as if Thatch were rather insane for asking. “You know how much I hate to deal with stuck up prats but from what you’ve just related it’s rather obvious he wants to talk to me and won’t talk to any of you. Ergo, the quicker I talk to him then the quicker we can get him out of our hair and the less I have to deal with.”

“We can get rid of him you know,” Thatch offered as he started to stand.

Marco just stared at him before asking, “What’s wrong with him?”

“With who?”

“The guy who wants to talk to me. You are being rather persistent in letting me know that I don’t have to talk to the man if I don’t want to.”

Thatch blanched and Marco raised an eyebrow, silently demanding answers.

“He just doesn’t feel right,” Thatch said after a moment.

Marco nodded his understanding. While that _feeling_ may have not been enough for some, when it came to people Thatch was perhaps the best at ferreting out hidden facets and personal agendas. If whoever wanted to meet with him put Thatch on edge then there was clearly more than appearance suggested.

“And,” Thatch continued, distaste coloring his features, “from what he’s wearing I think he’s a noble; probably from somewhere in the World Collective.”

Marco groaned, “Great. I wonder what the hell they want now?”

Thatch shrugged and Marco continued, “Do you think they’ve finally decided to make our lives easier and just declare war so we can go crush them?”

Thatch snorted, “I doubt we’d get that lucky.”

Marco grinned, “Well a man can dream. Either way my point still stands. I’ll talk to him and find out what he wants all right? You might want to go make sure that Jozu or any of the others haven’t murdered him already. We can’t have pools of blood in the lobby. It’s a bit unsightly and attracts flies.”

“You just don’t want to have to be the one to clean up the mess if they have.”

Marco’s grin grew, “That is also very true.”

Thatch laughed, “Jerk. I’ll be back in a moment with the poncy prat.”

Marco nodded and turned his attention back to the papers on his desk. He pushed them together in a neat pile that he placed on top of the pile that he had yet to go through. He moved the whole stack to a drawer in his desk and locked it. Regardless of the purpose of this visitor there was no way that he was going to give the World Collective anything, even if it was just the knowledge of how much paperwork he dealt with. Marco had just finished stowing the rest of his paperwork when voices floated into his room from the hallway.

“Finally! You have dallied long enough. This delay shall be remarked upon, mark my words!” came a posh and haughty voice.

Marco assumed from the content that it belonged to the man that wanted to speak to him. Thatch was right he did sound like a noble. Speaking of his brother, Thatch appeared in his doorway once again this time looking even more annoyed than he had moments ago.

“Marco,” he asked rather serious for once, “are you sure?” Marco nodded “Your funeral,” Thatch muttered and stepped aside waving a hand at someone further down the hall.  

Mere moments later a tall stranger brushed past Thatch in the doorway as if he didn’t exist “You are Marco, the First Division Commander? ” he asked.

From his position seated at the desk Marco had to crane his neck to look at the other. The stranger was taller than average with delicate cheekbones that spoke of an aristocratic heritage. A black top hat sat atop straight blond hair that framed the stranger’s face from which ice-cold blue eyes peered out. His clothing and lack of visible weaponry did nothing to hide the fact that the man standing before him was seriously ripped. The worn traveling coat he had draped over his arm told its own tale. This man was a seasoned traveler and not just on regular caravan runs. No, that type of coat in the condition that it was in meant this prim and proper piss-ant made frequent trips into the Border and had survived; all of which indicated to the observant soul that he was a dangerous character indeed.

“I am.” Marco answered briefly continuing his assessment of the man. He knew he had never seen him before yet beneath the cold and haughty demeanor there was something slightly familiar about him. In fact the more he looked the more he was sure he knew this guy somehow. Marco kept his expression still but inwardly he frowned. If he didn’t figure out how he knew this man soon it would drive him nuts long after the prat had departed.

The other man nodded, “I am Fredrick Dmitri Reginald Mortimer Outlook the Third and I come bearing rather important confidential news which I shall impart if you would care to get rid of this riff-raff.”

“Riff-raff?” Thatch sputtered angrily from behind him while Marco raised an eyebrow.

“Information?” he asked.

“Yes. I said that. Were you not listening?”

“From who?” Marco demanded and Fredrick was silent, apparently unwilling to say. “Look,” Marco said, “I don’t care if it offends your honor or whatever but I cannot help you if you don’t tell me whose messenger you are.”

There was another moment of silence as Fredrick thought about it. Finally after a moment, he raised one gloved hand and brushed the brim of his top hat, pushing it back slightly as if to see better. “I am no one’s messenger. I am simply doing a favor for a friend, whose name is entirely unimportant.” Fredrick said haughtily.

Marco noticed that he wasn’t as calm and collected as he appeared. It wasn’t blatantly obvious. The only tell that the aristocratic messenger was feeling any emotion at all was that he did not actually lower his hand again after fussing with his hat. Instead his fingers were now fiddling with the brim.

“I would think that in times such as these one would not be able to be picky about whom your information comes from especially as I was assured that you would trust the source explicitly,”

Marco continued to study the other for a moment. He wasn’t getting much of anything from this Fredrick fellow. The man had an excellent poker face. As he continued his assessment their eyes met. Once Fredrick seemed sure that he had Marco’s attention he rather pointedly fiddled with his top hat though he still managed to play it off as a subdued nervous tick. Marco noticed for the first time that the hat was not black as he had first thought. Instead it was a rather specific shade of blue.

“Ah,” Marco said. He suddenly understood what was going on. Well, that complicated things a bit. Now, how to get Thatch to leave? “I see. Please, take a seat. I need to talk to my brother for a moment. ”

“If I must,” came the annoyed but resigned response.

Marco stood and moved past Fredrick ushering the rather confused Thatch out into the hall. He slightly closed the door behind him before looking at Thatch.

“Marco?” Thatch asked not bothering to wait for Marco to finish closing the door “What’s going on? Do you know this Fredrick character?”

Marco shook his head. “Him personally? No.”

“Then what in the world is going on?”

“I know who sent him. It’s fine. Fredrick won’t pass on his information with you in the room or if he knows you’re listening.” Marco said

“Someone sent him?” Thatch asked and Marco nodded.

“Yes,” Marco said shortly making sure to keep his voice down since the door was partly open. He made sure that he could see at least part of his visitor. Marco was curious to see what Fredrick would do after being left alone in his office not in direct line of sight.

“And you know who?” Thatch questioned.

“Yes, I said that already” Marco explained not surprised that Thatch was having problems processing the information. He glanced in the door again. Surprisingly Fredrick didn’t seem to be doing anything other than waiting with barely restrained impatience. He hadn’t even bothered to sit down. Either the man really was just a messenger or had been explicitly told not to screw things up. He highly doubted the former given the expensive nature of his clothes. That just left the latter.

“How?” Thatch questioned. “He never told you he was working for anyone much less who he worked for!”

“Actually he did,” Marco countered.

“But he didn’t say anything!” Thatch complained.

“Then you clearly weren’t paying attention,” Marco said dryly. “Look Thatch you’ve got to trust me. I know what I’m doing and whatever message he is carrying it’s actually important.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because there’s a person in my office. Normally I would just get messages from this source slipped in with my paperwork or passed along with my own informants. Instead I’ve been sent a messenger which means its most likely highly sensitive. I’ve got this.”

“Fine, Fine,” Thatch grumbled, “You’ve got this.”

“And no eavesdropping,” Marco said sternly.

Thatch glanced away attempting to look innocent, “What on earth are you talking about?”

“I know you. No eavesdropping.”

“Fine,” Thatch agreed reluctantly and Marco glared at him.

“And no getting Izo to do it for you,” He added. “In fact,” Marco mused, “if I learn or manage to catch anyone eavesdropping on this conversation there will be hell to pay.”

Thatch raised his hands in surrender, “Right. Um, just curious, what exactly are you going to do?”

Marco grinned darkly as he turned back to his office door, “Oh I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

Thatch gulped and Marco smirked as he entered his office shutting the door behind him.

“Are you done?” Fredrick sounded impatient.

Marco absently noted that at some point Fredrick had sat down. He hadn’t relaxed though; he was now perched on the edge of the chair sitting ramrod straight.

“Yes.” Marco said but didn’t move from the door and Fredrick looked at him strangely. “So what can I help you with?”

“For starters I wish you to know about the absolutely dreadful time I have had this afternoon and how highly inconvenient this entire endeavor has been,” Fredrick began and Marco noted that as he spoke the shadow that was his brother moved away from the door and if he concentrated past Fredrick’s complaints he could hear footsteps moving down the hallway.

Once enough time had passed that Thatch would have turned the corner Marco turned his attention back to the man in the room and headed towards his desk. “Drink?” Marco asked cutting off the tirade that he frankly hadn’t been listening to as he reclaimed his chair and desk.

Frederick didn’t appear to be at all upset at being cut off. He simply raised an eyebrow and said, “Please.”

Marco frowned slightly. That wasn’t in keeping with this man’s behavior both observed and reported at all. It was almost as if this Frederick had staged the whole rant for the express purpose of killing time until Thatch was out of earshot. If so, that was a highly sophisticated strategy. Something that someone highly experienced in the game of intelligence gathering might do. No, it wouldn’t do to underestimate this Frederick at all Marco thought.

He reached for the Scotch and a pair of tumblers in the bottommost drawer of his desk. Marco still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on but this Fredrick now seemed even more familiar than ever. Had he been wrong on his initial assessment? Had he met this man somewhere before? No, Marco discarded that notion almost immediately. If he had, then Fredrick would have no reason to ask who he was.   Maybe he had seen him in the market? Well, he would find out eventually.

“You know, this is a first for me.” Marco commented, glancing at Fredrick who had raised an eyebrow in interest as he poured the scotch into the glasses. “Normally I just get messages slipped into my paperwork. What can I do for one of Royal Blue’s messengers?” he asked passing over one glass.

“Oh, Good. Your brother has finally cleared out?” Fredrick asked in a familiar voice. It was definitely not the posh whiney tones that he had been using when he had first walked into the office. “Are we going to be able to finally get down to business?”

At Marco’s nod, Fredrick’s entire demeanor changed. It wasn’t much, just a simple shift in posture that had the blond leaning back and relaxing in the chair he was occupying. The top hat was removed and placed onto the chair next to him. Once done, Fredrick took a small sip from the glass then frowned at Marco.

“If this is what you drink normally Feathers, you’ve been holding out on me. Where on earth did you manage to get your hands on a bottle of Salamander Scotch?” the other man asked. Marco peered at the blond, not entirely sure what was going on.   The man who was now lounging in the chair was definitely not the man who had walked in, yet there was no other explanation. They were the same person. He blinked; and blinked again. The blond in the chair simply chuckled. “I didn’t think my disguise was that good.”

“Sabo?” Marco questioned incredulously still not entirely sure though the use of that particular nickname left no room for doubt. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Ah, couple of things actually.” Sabo said “I wanted to see a friend”

“Was the elaborate disguise really necessary?”

“Yes. There was no way in hell I would ever stroll into Enforcer Headquarters as myself. It would be a good way to get locked up and interrogated.”

“Right.” Marco said leaning back in his own chair and taking a sip of his own drink. It wasn’t something that he was particularly proud of but it was unfortunately true. “So, what’s up?”

Sabo shrugged. “Eh, not much actually.”

“Bullshit.”

“I can’t just want to come visit a friend?”

“Sure you can. Though if that was the only reason you were here I’m pretty sure you would have said hi the last time I was in the Bar. Which was only yesterday as I’m sure you know.”

Sabo snickered. “I still can’t believe I missed that. Ace said watching you and Shanks bicker was pretty funny. I’m still amused over the fact that out of all the rumors surrounding you and Shanks it happens to be the one about the two of you not getting along is the one that turns out to be true.”

Marco rolled his eyes. “Don’t remind me.”

“Things are that bad between the two of you? What the heck did he do to you, or you to him to make things that difficult?”

“It’s complicated…” Marco said slowly. “He’s a good man but he delights in irritating me. Intentionally. I sometimes think he’s testing to see just if and when I’m going to snap. What was he doing at the Bar anyway?”

Sabo took another sip of his drink, “You know the story of how Shanks lost his arm?”

“Which one?” Marco asked. “I’ve heard several versions of that particular tale none of which sounded particularly truthful.”

“The one about him losing it trying to save a kid?”

“Yeah. Was the kid you or something?”

Sabo snickered, “Try or something. The kid was Luffy who apparently made enough of an impression that lead to Shanks stopping on by to check in with us whenever he is nearby.”

“Huh. I’m guessing that means that none of you grew up in the area because we would have definitely noticed Shanks stopping by all the time.”

Sabo snorted but didn’t comment as he gazed absently at the wall. That was all that Marco needed to know that something was up. Sabo only got lost in his own head like that when he was dealing with something massive or when he was particularly worried.

“See and now I know you didn’t just sneak in to shoot the breeze,” Marco said interrupting Sabo’s train of thought.

“Actually I did,” Sabo offered though his expression was still rather closed off.

Marco put on his best _I’m unimpressed_ face, “I’m your friend. You’re going to have to lie better if you want to fool me. Seriously Sabo what’s going on? Talk to me.”

Sabo was silent as he studied Marco who simply returned the favor. Whatever was going on it was bigger than he had suspected even a moment or two ago. In fact the expression on Sabo’s face was the most serious that Marco had ever seen. Finally Sabo sighed. He tore his gaze away from Marco and turned it on swirling reddish brown liquid in his glass. Marco took another sip of his own as he waited. Once Sabo had figured out what he was going to say then he would start talking. Until then Marco would wait.

“Marco.” Sabo finally said, looking back up at him.

“Yes?” Marco asked, sensing that they were finally getting to the crux of the reason behind Sabo’s visit.

“I need to confirm something. Um…You might consider it a bit personal.”

“Shoot.”

“You’re in love with my brother right?”

Marco froze. Of all of the things he had potentially expected Sabo to ask, that was not one of the possibilities. Marco’s thoughts resembled a fire-storm in the Border all chaos and swirling flames. Was he in love with Ace? He really liked the guy, enjoyed his company, and preferred it to some of his own family in fact. He used any excuse and sometimes none at all to go see him. When Ace wasn’t around he felt like something was lacking. Pieces of a puzzle that he hadn’t even realized that he was trying to solve suddenly fell into place with what he could have sworn was an audible snap.

When he looked back at Sabo the expression on his friend’s face was one of satisfied contentment and he leaned back into his chair a smug smile on his face. “I thought so,” He said, the smugness practically oozing from him.

“What?” Marco said feeling uncharacteristically at a loss. “You…I… what?”

Sabo had the nerve to chuckle, “Did you just realize that?”

“Yes!” Marco exclaimed. “I knew I was interested in Ace but I hadn’t realized what exactly was going on so please give me a moment to allow the more logical part of my brain to catch up to my emotions thank you.”

“Well don’t take too long,” Sabo said.

“Why? Are you going to give me a shovel speech now?”

“That would be entirely pointless,” Sabo admitted grudgingly. “You already know what I can do. Nevertheless, take care of my brother Marco. Especially when he won’t take care of himself. I’m not going be able to always be there to take care of him”

“Pardon?” Marco was a bit taken aback by the suddenly somber tone that the conversation had suddenly acquired. “Sabo, that makes it sound like you’re saying goodbye. What the hell have you gotten yourself into?”

Sabo winced slightly. It was fairly obvious that he hadn’t meant to reveal that particular piece of information. He sighed, “I suppose I am saying goodbye. Not to worry, it’s only in case the worst happens.”

“Not to worry? Sabo, you’ve just implied that I’m going to be the one who’s going to have to tell your siblings if whatever you are up to bites you in the ass.”

“What? No! I’ve got that covered. You just need to make sure Ace doesn’t do anything stupid if I die like he did the last time I died.”

“What? You’ve been considered dead before?”

“Haven’t you ever wondered where I got my scars?”

“Yes. But that’s not the point. What the hell have you gotten yourself into Sabo?”

“I can’t tell you. I’m just doing my job and I need to go track down some things all right?” Sabo glanced around the room again, eyes alighting on a clock. “Listen, I need to go soon and before I do there’s a few things that you need to know. Starting with that information you asked me to gather on the person going by the name Blackbeard.”

Marco leaned forward, putting all emotions to the side for the moment. He’d have to deal with the realization that he loved Ace, and the fact that one of his best friends was about go and do something unspecified but most likely extremely stupid and potentially fatal later “I’m listening.”

“Blackbeard is also known as Teach D. Marshall. He’s a former member of the Whitebeard Enforcers…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right yep. Thats where I am leaving that. Ah, last week someone asked if there was a piece missing of the story especially in regards to the conversation between Marco and Shanks. I just want to be clear that nothing is missing. I did not write that conversation because I wasnt entirely sure how to from Ace's perspective.
> 
> Anyways, I hope yall enjoy and I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend! Mind leaving a review to let me know what you think of this? Or any questions you have? I love questions. I really do.


	10. Feelings in the Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When playing with fire, take extra care not to get burned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last week, I was early and this week I am a little late. Ah well. That's the way the cookie crumbles. Before I begin, I wish to thank the magnificent Ktwontwo. They have been an absolute gem and beta'ed this chapter for me. Seriously guys you should go check out their stuff. Its phenomenal and you definitely wont regret it. I know I keep saying that, but its the truth.
> 
> The fantastically amazing absolutely outstanding awesome Idaida on tumblr is responsible for the lovely cover art. Thank you again for choosing my story in the 2016 OP Big Bang. It was a pleasure to work with you! To all of you readers who are lamenting the fact that you cant make out much detail never fear! Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds
> 
> So, my weekend was fantastic and I hope y'all had rather amazing ones yourselves. So yeah, last week I mentioned serious stuff started to happen here? Yeah this chapter marks the start of the spot which I am calling lets see how much the author can make the audience hate them. You've been warned. Well, I mean as much as I can without spoiling anything. Anyways, have at it folks!

The wind blew across the desert, carrying the acrid tang of smoke, scorched earth and burning rubber. Shimmers in the air caused by a massive blaze in the distance left no doubt to their destination yet Thatch apparently felt the need to ask the question anyways.

“That it?”

Izo who was standing next to him scoffed, “It’s the only thing around for miles. Is there any doubt that we’re headed into that inferno?”

Marco chuckled as he rolled his shoulders, “According to Blue’s messenger the place that appears to be going up in smoke is the spot.

Izo huffed, “I’m still mad that you didn’t bother to inform me that there was a messenger. I really would have liked to question him. but no, you didn’t say anything until after he had left.”

Marco ignored Izo’s rant while studying the burning compound in the distance. “That’s definitely it; right where he said it would be,” He repeated thoughtfully. “Though I’m not entirely sure just why it’s on fire.” Marco frowned as he took a good look at the blazing complex, “It shouldn’t be on fire. Technically no one is supposed to know about a secret base that kind of negates the whole idea. Now what can we deduce from this? Someone discovered it and took exception to its existence. Just who and why did they feel the need to set it on fire is the question.”

Izo, who by this time had stopped his grumping, glared at the building as if it offended him on a deep and personal level.

“We need to move; NOW!” He asserted. “If we don’t, then anything useful is going to get burned up by that blaze.”

With that Izo broke rank and started heading swiftly towards the building, uncaring of the cindicone and scrub brush that he trampled and pushed aside in his haste. Marco and Thatch shared a look as they followed behind their nosy, information obsessed sibling. Neither of them wanted to be the one to point out the fact that judging by the size of the blaze anything useful would have burnt up long before they had arrived.

As the three siblings topped a small rise and looked across to the burning compound it looked like their fears were well founded. Marco frowned. He could hear the beginning of Izo’s lament on unsolved mysteries and burnt up documentation as he took in the flame enshrouded building. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Thatch attempting to redirect Izo’s attention towards figuring out the best way in. The flames themselves however held most of his attention and he frowned slightly as he studied them. Something wasn’t quite right here but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

After a moment more of study it suddenly clicked and Marco grinned. It appeared that their quest for information might not be as hopeless as they had originally feared. Despite the smells on the wind earlier and the massive amount of visible flames not much of the complex appeared to be actually consumed. Instead, it looked to Marco as if someone had taken a blanket made of fire and simply draped it over and around the hastily built hodgepodge structure that made up the compound.

Much to his siblings surprise Marco took a couple of steps forward until he was just on the edge of the temperature zone created by the flames, slightly warmer than what was comfortable but not too hot to be horrendously uncomfortable either.

“The fire isn’t actually consuming anything,” Marco breathed in awe as he gazed at the flames.

This was a work of art. For all that the fire looked natural, it was not. He could feel his sibling’s bewilderment as they took that statement it and then their own wonder and curiosity as they noticed what he had. Marco took another half step forward toward the fascinating flame construct.

“Card Deck!” Izo said with a snap of his fingers from a couple of feet back. He was apparently unwilling to let the heat ruin his makeup.

“What about them?” Thatch wondered.

“You think this is their work,” Marco replied absently still studying the patterns forming in the fire.

“Yes,” Izo nodded. “Remember the WC calls ‘em Fire Fist and they’re the only other group in the area who hate Blackbeard nearly as much as we do. Given their recent successes they also seem to have the resources to find out where Blackbeard’s hideouts are. That doesn’t even take into account that we know their leader, Spade or whatever his name is, has some sort of ability pertaining to fire. That fire is not actually burning anything therefore he or some other fire type user has to be in there. There’s no other reason for the fire to act like this.”

Thatch made a noncommittal grunt in agreement.

As if to punctuate the conversation there was a sudden bellow of pain that echoed out of the compound. Sounds of a fight followed, growing louder presumably as the fight moved closer towards them.

“How many extra Coalition forces did the messenger say had been moved here?” Izo asked.

Marco tuned out Thatch’s reply. He was too busy studying the flames searching for a way in. He wasn’t having much luck finding one. The fire blanket had completely sealed off all potential entrances and exits. In fact the potential entrances and exits were the only places where the fire seemed to be steady. Everywhere else the flames seemed to waver and dance almost as if they had a mind of their own. Marco blinked watching the flames dance to the sounds of the fight inside. They flickered and moved in a hypnotic pattern around the building. It didn’t appear to be an angry or malicious type of pattern; it was instead rather soothing.

Despite being what he was, he had never particularly thought of fire as having a life of its own before but this one clearly did. A tongue of flame licked around a corner of a window and Marco followed it with his eyes. It mingled with its fellows before curling around and fusing with another flame that struck out away from the building, crackling and popping away sending sparks towards the sky. Marco watched with something that was halfway between desire and envy. How long had it been? How many years since he had danced in the flames; since he had simply allowed himself to rise from the fire and fly for the joy of it? How long had it been since he had truly let himself go? He wanted…

A sudden whap on the back of his head had him whirling around, ready to strike whatever enemy had gotten past Thatch and Izo. Instead he found his siblings staring at him undisguised concern present on their face.

“Marco?” Izo asked hesitantly

“You with us, bird brain?” Thatch teased though he didn’t bother to hide the note of worry in his voice.

“I’m fine.” Marco protested. He didn’t understand the disbelieving look the pair shared between themselves either. When he could take it no more he finally asked, “What?”

“Are you sure?” Izo questioned stepping closer to peer up at his face.

Marco leaned away slightly. “Yes, I’m sure. Why?”

“Because you went all vacant on us bird boy,” Thatch said raising an eyebrow. “Your eyes went a little wild there for a second then you were trilling under your breath and next thing we know, well, look,” he said gesturing at Marcos feet.

Marco looked down wondering what Thatch was getting at. His eyes widened when he looked down at his feet. They weren’t feet any more. Instead he saw a set of raptor’s talons. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, concentrated, and opened them again. They were still there.

“Shit,” he muttered half under his breath.

“You didn’t even know you had shifted did you?” Thatch asked, sounding all too amused for the gravity of the current situation.

Marco shook his head mutely as he wondered what the hell was going on. With a sigh he took another breath and allowed his bright blue flames to flicker to life. At that point Marco found himself faced with another struggle. The flames wanted to change the rest of him. They wanted to replace easily burnt hair and flesh with inflammable feathers. There was the almost uncontrollable urge to just give in and spread his wings. He wanted to go dance in the flames and to hell with anything else! Marco frowned as he forced the process to go the other direction. When he finished, he looked back at his brothers.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Thatch asked.

At Marco’s nod Izo huffed, “You’d better be. The last time I saw you lose control we were picking feathers and fur out of everything for months. I do not wish to go through that again.”

Marco chuckled remembering the incident. He had been rather young then, barely out of his teenage years. “I’m fine,” he reassured them.

“Sure you are,” Izo said rolling his eyes. “When we get back, you need to figure out and deal with whatever that was.”

Thatch interrupted, “We don’t have time for that. If the building’s not actually on fire, then the information we’re after is still undoubtedly safe. How are we going to get in?”

“I’ve got a way,” Marco offered, “but I doubt you’re going to like it, especially in light of what just happened.”

“You have to manipulate the flames don’t you?” Izo’s voice was flat, turning the question into a statement.

Marco chose to answer it anyways. “Yes.”

“You’re right,” Izo said, “I don’t like it but do it anyway.”

He practically had to yell the last bit as the cacophony created by the fight that seemed to be occurring within the compound once again increased in volume.

Izo winced at a particularly loud bellow, “I hate wading into that blind but we really need information. Fight those who attack us and ignore those who don’t unless you think you can get some answers from them. Remember what we’re really after is the documents that Royal Blue claimed would be here. They take priority over almost everything else”

Marco and Thatch nodded in agreement.

Looking at the fire Marco took a deep breath and added, “Right.”

He strode forward into the wall of heat produced by the flames. Palms outstretched he ignored the heat until he got close enough to actually touch. At that point he allowed the fire to kiss his fingertips and run little tongues over his arms and palms before releasing his own vibrant blue fire. The blue spread from his palms out the tips of his fingers. It pushed back the orange flames creating an archway around the closest door.

“Go!” he urged his siblings. “I’ll join you in a moment. While I’ve got control I want to see what I can learn from the fire itself first. Maybe I can figure out how the Card Deck has managed to get fire to behave like this.”

“Uh huh,” Izo acknowledged then he and Thatch charged through the cleared door. The noises of battle increased once again but Marco ignored it focused once again on the flames he was playing with. He stood there in the blanket of fire watching his blue flames push and pull at the orange in a rather bizarre mockery of a tango. It was sensual, beautiful and unnatural all at once.

“What can you tell me?” He asked the fire just as the flames decided to give up their struggles to remain separate and merged, creating an odd violet flame.

The color wasn’t even the strangest part of the entire situation. The moment the flames had joined, the volume of the fire nearly quadrupled. An increase in the amount of fire was expected, he had just added more of it after all, but it shouldn’t have increased it by that much. Another oddity was the control that he had. As the purple spread, the phoenix part of Marco trilled in contentment. He found that with very little effort he could manipulate the purple flames as easily as he did his own blue ones.

It was the emotions, however, that that he found the strangest of all. This fire had life, intelligence and emotion. It was full of it. There was the ever-present hunger found in any fire but overshadowing that was a delighted contentment and childish joy. There were other emotions mixed in. Many were too faint to really distinguish one from another. The more he played with the purple fire the more relaxed, lazy and content he felt. Slowly overtaking over the whole thing was a sense of wonder, which Marco realized with shock, was coming from him.

Deciding to experiment, Marco focused on the wonder he was currently experiencing and released more of his own blue flames. They didn’t stay blue for long, as the violet and orange flames swallowed them. The hue of the purple deepened to a much darker color and Marco could suddenly feel the glee of whoever was also manipulating the fire as the other fire wilder realized that he now had a playmate, someone to share the fire with. Dizzy with elation Marco grinned wildly as he pushed at the purple flames teasing and taunting the other fire user to do something, anything really. They played like that for a minute or so and then the game shifted when Marco caught a tongue of flame approaching him, one he hadn’t controlled, trying to pin down his location.

He took control of that stray bit and melded it into his blue, turning it purple. It quickly shifted the dance into a game of fiery keep away. Some of the flames would flick out, in an attempt to find him. Marco did his best to turn them away in random patterns. It wasn’t like the fire could hurt him, but it wouldn’t do to let the other fire wielder know exactly where he was. He in turn, would send waves of the purple flame rippling over the orange flames blanketing the complex in an attempt to find its source. It was quite an exhilarating feeling to finally find someone else who would and could play with fire this way. Marco could imagine that his counterpart felt the same.

The game shifted again. It had first been pushing and shoving like little kids attempting to assert their superiority over each other. Then it had been more playing a back and forth friendly give and take. Now it seemed to be more like dancing. Flames entwining about one another, changing form and color but keeping their own identity. Sometimes they would mirror each other while others they would merge into a purple that grew deeper every time they merged and split then merged again.

Abruptly as the whole thing had begun it stopped. Marco experienced a torrent of emotions; realization, confusion, suspicion, worry, panic and what he thought was the slightest hint of regret. The next thing that he knew the fire flared white-hot and suddenly he was alone in the flames with only the ever-present hunger of a true fire to keep him company.

A sharp crackling noise coupled with some rather impressive swearing from somewhere inside the compound drew him out of his head and Marco nearly swore himself before busting through the door that Thatch and Izo had entered earlier. He needed to find them and he needed to do it fast. The flames were quickly reverting to their natural state once his playmate had removed his control. As fire manipulation was only a side effect of his powers Marco knew his abilities would only be able to delay things for a while. Eventually the fire would slip through his metaphorical fingers and burn through the building consuming everything and everyone inside. If he were to be completely honest with himself, Marco wasn’t confident that the fortuitous quirk of his powers would delay the flames much at all. The last impression that he had gotten from the flames before removing himself from them had been that of starvation. Held from fuel as they had been, the flames would gorge themselves on anything and everything available, as was their nature.

Marco made a quick decision, instead of wasting time trying useless things, it would be better to find and assist his siblings. He tore through the lower levels of the compound, nearly slipping several times in various pools of blood. The dead bodies and overturned furniture that were present in nearly every room did not help in the slightest and Marco had only his reflexes to thank when he managed to save himself from falling flat on his face again and again.

He had just finished checking the first floor and was making his way towards the hall that contained the stairwell. He’d almost made it to the bottom of the stairs when movement caught his attention and he looked up. He froze in shock and the person on the upper landing did the same. Marco almost couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing there, just across from him was a short plump black haired woman with a face that he knew rather well; Marie Black gazed steadily back at him.

It was clearly the same Marie that worked at the S’andwich Bar but instead of her usual outfit she was dressed like someone who meant business. A sleeveless leather vest, gorget and bracers had been combined in an ingenious way to give her a decent amount of flexibility and protection. Sturdy looking boots and tan shorts with a multitude of pockets completed the outfit. She looked good as she always did but Marco found that his eyes were drawn to her tattoo. An intricate Q with a stylized heart in the center adorned her right leg, just above the knee. There was also a glint of a weapon in her hand; a punching dagger. Both the dagger and the tattoo struck a chord in Marco but he didn’t have either the time or the energy right now to chase down the memory. He needed to find his brothers.

As he prepared to move onward Marco suddenly knew with absolute clarity why the description was ringing a bell. The woman that Jinbie had fought just over two weeks ago used punching daggers and had that same tattoo. Izo had been correct; the Card Deck was here and Marie was part of the deck. If he were to continue with the Card analogies, Marco supposed that made her part of a hand or something. The question now was which hand had been dealt? Which hand was it that the Deck had believed to be the winning one in this case?

“Marie?” Marco sputtered over the sound of the fire, “You? What?”

Marie said nothing as she studied him impassively, a marked change from her usually expressive face. There was a slight widening of her eyes as she saw his own tattoo, the one that marked him as a member of Whitebeard’s family but it was nowhere near the level of shock that he had expected if she hadn’t known about it at all. Evidently, she had known or at least suspected who he was the entire time. Finally she visibly huffed as she met his eyes, a rather cocky grin spreading across her face.

Marco decided that he’d had enough. It was high time he got some answers. He took a step forward and Marie’s bravado flickered for a second allowing Marco to get a look at the grim determination residing behind it. He took another step forward onto the staircase and Marco could see the confliction on her face. It was clear that she did not want to be here at this moment, though Marco couldn’t tell if it was due to his reputation or the fact that they had become friends over the course of the past few clicks. It didn’t matter as an incomprehensible yell sounded in the distance. Marco didn’t recognize the voice but Marie apparently did and her face hardened as Marco advanced slowly up the stairs. Good, Marco thought with a detached satisfaction. That meant that she was taking this seriously. He took another step forward and Marie took a step back fully onto the upper landing this time, as if to provide her with a more stable stance.

An ominous creaking from overhead caused them both to look for its source. It was a good thing too since a ceiling beam nearly eaten through by flames gave way. Marco jumped back off the staircase just as the entire thing came crashing down sending up a cloud of dust, splinters and sparks as it took out the stairwell. Marco grimaced and when he looked up at the landing Marie had vanished.

Marco swore. There went his best chance of figuring out what was going on. He could go after her he realized. It wouldn’t take that long move around the burning beam and access the second floor. She couldn’t have gone too far. He started to move towards the remains of the staircase when a low inhuman groaning filled the area.

Crap, Marco thought, and did an abrupt heel face turn. He knew that sound all too well. The fire had eaten through the supports faster than he would have thought possible. The building would be coming down any minute and he still needed to find his brothers. Answers would have to wait. Hopefully Thatch and Izo had managed to find something and this entire thing hadn’t been a waste of time.

Marco practically flew through the building as he searched for the wayward pair, artfully dodging bits of burning building, newfound holes in the floors. The place was a mess, though it was impossible to say how much of a disaster it had been before the fighting had started. A flash of fire caught his attention and Marco glared at it all the while increasing his speed and relentlessly shoving away the part of him that desperately wanted to stop running and allow the flames to consume him.

Loud hacking coughs caught his attention and Marco’s glare turned into a grimace. That sounded distinctly like Izo. Attempting to use the noise to pinpoint his brother’s location was difficult but after a few seconds he finally found his wayward siblings standing over a dead man and rifling through a filing cabinet.

“Get what you wanted?” He asked, watching in concern as another violent set of coughs sent spasms through his brother.

“Dunno. I think got something decent,” Izo gasped once his coughing had stopped.

“There’s no time to look for anything more,” Thatch growled while stuffing some papers into his pockets, his voice raspy from the smoke.

Izo glared, “I refuse to let this be a wasted trip.”

“And I refuse to let you die,” Marco stated bluntly. “Thatch is right. There’s no more time the building is about to come down around our ears. We need to go.”

“Fine,” Izo snapped, “then let’s get out of here.”

“This way,” Marco said turning.

He was surprised to see the hallway completely engulfed in flames. The bird part of his brain clamored for his attention once again but Marco shoved it away. He needed to focus on finding another way out. His brothers wouldn’t make it through the hall. He turned back to the room, searching for something, anything that could be used as a way out. There wasn’t one.

An all to familiar creaking groan seemed to come from everywhere at once and Marco’s eyes widened in horror. The ceiling sagged dangerously. The building was going to collapse any minute now and Izo and Thatch were still on the other side of the room. Marco started running; he knew he wasn’t going to make it in time but that didn’t stop him from trying anyway.

The timbers began to succumb to the inevitable, sending a fiery rain of wood splinters, burning beams and a miscellaneous body or two down into the room. With a panicked cry he lunged forward, hands outstretched and reaching for his brothers as the first bits of the ceiling hit the floor.

Just as Marco reached his brothers the entire building seemed to collapse in on itself all at once with a thunderous roar swallowing everything and everyone in a blazing eruption of incandescent flame.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eheheheheheh. Yeah, thats the end of the chapter! I did warn you that serious things were happening. There you go, serious things have happened. Please please please let me know what you think! I love all of the feedback that I get from you guys! It makes me super happy!


	11. Full House on Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively known as A flame in hand is worth a bird in the sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds
> 
> Soooo, that cliffhanger though. I'd say im sorry for leaving things like that for so long but Im not really. Thank you for your reveiws guys. They made me really happy. Sorry about the week break. I needed the time to get the next couple of chapters edited. Anyways I hope you all enjoy this one.

"Everyone out?" Ace asked as he met David several hundred yards from the complex wall.

Together they trotted away from the blazing compound following a deer trail that headed up a small incline and further into the Border.

"Other than Blackbeard's men it was just you, me, and Queen of Hearts right?" David asked just as Marie jogged up to join them.

"Yeah, we were the only three who went in," Ace said picking up the pace without bothering to turn around.

He'd know Marie's steps anywhere. Since she was out too it was all good. He didn't want to waste any more time. They needed to get back to the shop quickly before any of the regulars showed up and wondered where they were.

"No we weren't the only ones in there," added Marie

"No?" Ace turned to look at his friend.

"Whitebeard sent people. Dunno how he found out about this Spade but some of his people were in there. It wasn't just any of Whitebeard's people, he sent some of the commanders," Marie clarified.

The group kept moving. David blinked, shook his head then stared over at Marie. Ace noted that while David was acting surprised, Marie appeared to have a concerned look on her face. Ace frowned. He couldn't figure out what was bugging her. Whitebeard only took the best of the best and the commanders were the most talented of the lot. Why would she be worried about leaving any of them in the complex? Surely they could get out by themselves?

"Which ones?" David asked and Marie's worry appeared to intensify. She glanced nervously at Ace then licked her lips.

"I only saw three. I don't know if there were any more."

"Who did you see, Q?" Ace asked

"Thatch the Fourth Division Commander, Izo the Sixteenth Division Commander, and Marco." Marie paused for a moment then blurted, "And Marco had a tattoo that, if I saw it right, identifies him as the First Division Commander."

"Wait, hold up," David exclaimed, "I know we suspected Marco of working for Whitebeard but you're telling me he's the freaking First Division Commander? Are you sure?".

"As sure as I can be seeing as I almost literally ran into the man as I was trying to get down from the second floor. I got a decent look at his tattoo. It was clearly visible before the stupid ceiling fell down on the stairway." Marie thought for a moment, "The others were also showing their ink. That means they wanted people to know that Whitebeard forces took out the base."

David started chuckling, "Too bad for them that we'd already taken out most of the opposition before they arrived. There's no-one left to take word back. We made dang sure of that!"

Marie appeared to ignore David's comment a thoughtful look on her face.

"Given how he reacted to seeing me there," she finally said, "the Marco you like to eat sandwiches with is clearly the Marco who's the First Division Commander."

"What the hell!" David exclaimed in a disgusted tone. "He's been coming to the bar for clicks. How in the name of all that's holy did we not figure this out sooner? You'd have thought someone from our crew would have made the connection or run into him officially long before this."

"I did," Ace replied softly as he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. He stopped walking and turned back to stare at the flames. "I knew."

"You what?" David growled.

"I knew," Ace repeated calmly. "I knew from the beginning; from the first time he walked in to be precise."

"And you didn't tell us?!" Marie exploded.

"No." Ace said

"Why not?" Marie asked incredulously.

Ace couldn't look at her. He knew that all he would see in her expression would be betrayal and hurt.

"Because he literally had no idea what he'd walked into. He was just looking for a place where he could be himself. A place where no one knew him and where no one would have any sort of expectations or judgments about him. I know what that's like to need a place like that. I didn't mind that he chose the Bar to be his. He clearly had no idea that he'd just walked into the headquarters of the Card Deck. In fact, I bet he didn't even know we existed at that point. Hell, it's been over nine clicks and I'll eat my hat if he has any clue about the connection."

"Well he does now." Marie said darkly.

"What?" Ace looked over at her and winced at her thunderous expression.

"He saw and recognized me. Demanded to know what the hell I was doing there. He knows something's up Spade. At the very minimum he knows I'm a member of the Card Deck."

"Shit!" David said, summing up the situation quite nicely.

"Seconded," Ace said with a sigh as he stared at the burning compound once more. "Damn. I guess I really screwed things up this time."

"Oh yes you did," Marie agreed.

Ace could feel her staring at him.

Finally she added, "Wipe that look off your face this instant and get moving! There's no way you are going back in there. We need to get out of here regardless of your feelings for the man. Damnit Spade you can't run in and save him if you want to have any chance of salvaging the last four years of planning and work. It's bad enough that he saw me. We do not need him questioning who you are, wondering about your connections or worse yet asking what the hell you're doing in the area besides running a sandwich shop of all things. Though I do have to admit I'm a bit curious to hear what you tell him about that last seeing as the story changes every time you tell it."

Ace shrugged absently as he glanced in the general direction of the bar but quickly turned back to stare at the flames then his companions. He felt like he'd been punched. No, more like he'd been picked up and shaken. He had no idea what he should do now. His head said hot foot it back to the bar and pretend nothing had happened. His emotions on the other hand were telling him to wade back into the inferno.

Apparently his indecision was very evident on his face because something in Marie's expression softened for a split second. "I get it, ok? He's my friend too. He'll be all right. He's Whitebeard's Second in Command and you know that lot, they're damn hard to kill. A little fire like that won't even slow him down."

Ace shook his head attempting to clear his thoughts. "You don't really get it do you? I…" he paused for a moment to figure out how to express what he wanted to say. "I won't throw away what we're doing but I won't leave him in there to die either. I just can't Q. I'll figure something out if it comes to that. He'll die if I don't do something and I can't loose another person to…I refuse to let someone else I care about die in one of my fires again."

"Is there anything you can do?" Marie asked and Ace looked down at the ground, an anguished expression on his face.

"Not from here. Not without going back in myself. The fire's not mine anymore. I relinquished my control over it when I noticed…"

"Noticed what?"

"There was someone else in the fire."

"The fire was covering the entire building Spade," David said sarcastically. "There were a lot of people in the fire."

Ace shook his head, "Oh shut up King. That's not what I meant and you know it. I meant that there was someone else who could manipulate fire. They stuck their hands into the flames metaphysically and somehow managed to keep the fire from harming them. It didn't even seem to faze them. Who ever it was they didn't seem to be upset by being surrounded by fire. Intrigued sure, but they were definitely not worried. They just waded in and started poking at it. Playing with it even. I couldn't even get a good read on their location, just a general area. Any bit of flame I sent into their vicinity ended up getting misdirected before getting grabbed and taken over by this weird purple flame that we both could control."

"Good!" Marie said decisively, "Then we can go back to the bar with no worries."

"What?" Ace asked confused. He wasn't following Marie's logic. How did the fact that there was another fire user change anything?

Marie rolled her eyes at him but grinned all the same, "The other fire ability probably came with the Enforcers otherwise you would have noticed it earlier. At least one of those guys has a talent that affects fire. That means whatever happens in there Marco has a chance. Which means we don't have to place our plans in any more jeopardy than they already are."

Ace smiled back at her seeing the truth in her words but David frowned, "Another Ability that can control fire or not, I don't think it's going to help much."

Marie and Ace whirled on him, "What do you know that we don't?"

David just shook his head. He had apparently continued to keep watch for survivors as Ace and Marie had been talking. He simply pointed wordlessly at the compound as the structure let out a final creaking groan and collapsed in on itself with a mighty series of thuds. For a moment all was quiet save for the aggravatingly cheerful crackle of the flames.

"No," Ace whispered as he took a small step forward. "No, no, no!"

David put a hand on Ace's shoulder in a wordless show of sympathy but no words were exchanged as the trio stood there. The world was silent, save for the crackle of flames.

Ace didn't know quite what to feel. He was frozen in place; couldn't think, couldn't breathe. He couldn't even look at the compound any more. The only thing that was keeping him together was David's hand on his shoulder.

As they stood gazing down at the ruins of the complex a trilling hum filled the air. It steadily increased in volume and Ace absently wondered if he was the one making the noise. Marie's exclamation of _What the hell?_ made him realize that the noise had some other source. Ace felt David's hand move as he shrugged. Marie must have asked if he knew what it was but it was clear that they were all way out of their depth in this situation.

A whispered _Spade_ caught his attention but he couldn't turn to face his friend. All he could do was stare down at his feet. Thankfully Marie seemed to get it because she didn't demand that he look at her.

"Spade, look at the flames," she hissed.

He didn't want to look at that pile of flaming rubble that more than likely had just killed the man that he loved. That realization almost took him to his knees. Wasn't that an unfortunate but interesting thing to realize at this particular moment he thought to himself. He loved Marco. It was too late though. Marco would never get to hear it and Ace would never get to tell him. He should have gone in there, plans be damned. He should have moved the minute Marie told him she'd seen Marco.

"I should have gone back." Ace whispered.

The hand on his shoulder squeezed again this time as if chastising him.

"If you had," David said softly, "we might have been digging you out of that."

"So?" Ace muttered darkly. Despite his plans of revenge Ace had never held much stock in living more than one day at a time. It was much simpler that way.

"It's not over," Marie said insistently.

Ace wanted to scream. Of course it was over. Marco had died.

"No, really Ace. Listen! Look! You've got to see this," she pressed.

It was the use of his real name that had him look up. Marie wouldn't have used it unless she really needed to get his attention. With great difficulty Ace pulled himself together enough to turn his gaze from the ground to look at the flaming rubble the fire itself. What he saw nearly gave him a heart attack. There, in the heart of the flame was that strange purple fire that he had mentioned. It was the same color as the fire that he had been playing with earlier.

"The fire user," he whispered, "the fire user survived! He still has some control."

As they watched the purple changed. It lightened bleeding into an even stranger color, sky blue. All the while the trilling hum got louder and louder. It seemed to be coming from the heart of the fire.

"If the fire user survived then the others did as well," Marie proclaimed her tone silencing any doubts that either Ace or David might have had. "He's one of Whitebeard's men. You know the stories about the trouble that they've had to deal with. Besides they never leave a man behind. Marco will be fine."

Ace just nodded as he watched the building in front of them. The strange noise from earlier had now changed from a hum to something more resembling…

"Is that singing?" David asked in disbelief.

Ace shrugged as the song, because there was no doubt now that it was indeed a song, reached a crescendo. In a brilliant explosion of wood and fire a large streak of blue shot upward into the sky. It hung there for a moment and Ace peered at the flames in an attempt to see. The light was blinding but he could just make out the shapes of three different forms, two humanoid and one large bird.

The song now sounded triumphant and joyful. The light shot straight up into the sky singing as it went then just as suddenly swooped down gliding over where they stood. As it passed Ace watched as the flames shifted. There was a glint of a golden eye, wild and alien looking at him. He couldn't tell if it was truly seeing him before it suddenly went silent, wheeled around and headed towards the Whitebeard Territory.

Ace was slightly thankful that he hadn't tried to move when Marie had told him to look at the flames. If he had he would have probably fallen over. As it was he simply sat down as the realization of just what he had seen rushed through him. He most likely looked like a complete idiot with his jaw hanging low staring after the blue light disappearing into the distance.

"What. The. Fuck!" Marie said finally.

"Hell if I know," David said offering his hand to Ace.

Ace gladly took it and used it to help lever himself off the ground.

"I do," Ace said once he had gotten his feet under him.

He took a couple of test steps to make sure that he wasn't going to collapse. He was a little shaky and while Ace wanted to blame it on over exertion he knew that it had more to do with the emotional rollercoaster that the past five minutes had been. He needed a nap, badly. Hopefully he would be able to make it back to the bar without collapsing from a sleep attack. Taking another couple of steps, Ace looked behind him only to find that David and Marie were still staring after the flaming speck in the sky.

"Cmon. We don't want to be here in case it decides to come back."

"You know what it is?" David asked as he hurried to catch up.

"Oh, yeah I know what that was."

Ace started to laugh but the sound came out weird. He couldn't really decide if he was more excited or worried about the clear confirmation of that particular rumor.

"Whitebeard is taking things very seriously indeed," he muttered when he got control of his laughter.

"Spade," Marie said from behind him. He could tell from her tone she was confused, "Elaborate. Now!"

"We just saw the Phoenix," Ace said dryly as he picked up his pace.

"Whitebeard sent the motherfucking Phoenix to deal with Blackbeard?"

"Apparently," David contributed, "And that's not all. You said you only saw three of the commanders?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"There were only three figures up there; two humanoid and one rather large flaming bird. The only logical explanation is that one of the Commanders is the Phoenix."

"Fucking hell man. What shit did we just get ourselves involved in?" Marie demanded.

"We all knew the risks when we started the whole vendetta," Ace said and Marie glowered.

"Yeah, if you meant we knew we might die trying to take down Blackbeard and his men that's a known risk," Marie groused. "Not once in my wildest imagination did I think that we might end up coming face to face with a legend. I mean in the last half hour we've encountered the fucking First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Territory and the freaking Phoenix. The first of which is by all reports one scary dude and the latter is supposedly is just a rumor to scare people and doesn't really exist!"

"Well we know Marco and he hasn't acted all that scary so why are you surprised that the thing that allegedly doesn't exist actually does? You can always back out if you want," David pointed out calmly and received a glare for his troubles.

"Screw that and fuck you for even suggesting it!" Marie swore. "I've been in for this long and I'm going to see it to the end, legends be damned. Still I have to wonder which Commander it is," She continued a bit more calmly, "That's one hell of a secret to keep."

"Probably just one more reason that the Collective hates Whitebeard," Ace mused thoughtfully. "If the Phoenix is an ability, it's one of the really powerful ones and it's not on their side. That's bad from their point of view and to make things worse if it considers one of their most powerful enemies family well...no wonder the Shitlords are desperate enough to team up with Blackbeard to try and take Whitebeard out".

"Why the hell do they even want that ability?" David asked.

"Maybe they're really trying to take over the world," Ace said nonchalantly. "Enough speculation for now. It's not currently our problem. Right now the problem is that we need to figure out what to do other than have at least Marie and more likely both of you lay low for a couple of days."

"What? Why?" Marie whined.

David also looked curious as to why Ace was suggesting he too go into hiding.

"Because Q you're the only one that Marco actually saw. He's probably going to make the connection from you to King. You both fought Jinbie with me and I have no doubt that Jinbie gave them a description of his opponents. Marco's gonna come looking for answers the moment that he is able to."

"And he can't demand them from us if he can't find us," Marie said slowly realizing Ace's plan.

"Exactly," Ace concurred satisfied that his point had been made.

"What about you?" David asked rather bluntly.

"What about me?"

"He'll probably make the connection between you and Spade as well," David said and Ace shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe. I won't deny it's a possibility but that's my problem. Besides, I don't wear my hat with the coat and Marco's never seen the coat. I've got a better chance of keeping my identity hidden. Whatever happens I'll handle it."

Silence fell as the small group of three trudged on. Ace could tell that David wasn't terribly pleased but it was also clear that he couldn't think of anything to say that might have a chance of changing Ace's mind.

They were almost all the way back to Outskirts soft thud followed by an, "Oh. Oh ho!" broke the silence.

Ace shot a curious glance over his shoulder to look at Marie who was looking way too pleased with herself given the events of the day. She met his eyes and her grin grew into a smirk.

"No worries Ace. I get it. I get it."

"Get what?" Ace said. He was genuinely curious what Marie thought she understood because Ace certainly didn't have any plans to handle this other than hope that Marco wasn't to terribly pissed at him for all of the half-truths and misdirection.

"Weeeell, let's just say that the problem of Marco recognizing you as Spade is not the only thing that you're going to have to handle," Marie said with a smirk and a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"What the hell Queen?" David asked while Ace glared at his friend.

"Seriously?" Ace asked.

"Oh, I'm dead serious. Marco likes you so it's not like it wouldn't work," Marie said.

"He what?" Ace asked momentarily distracted by a faint thwapp. "Look, I'll figure out some other way to deal with this ok? That would be a really shitty thing to do."

Marie raised an eyebrow, "Says the man who once seduced a Brass Captain to get into his rooms and steal some information. Like that wasn't a shitty thing to do?"

Ace shrugged. "It wasn't personal. Not like…" he cut himself off and whirled around to look back in the direction that they had come.

Marie however had continued speaking. "Not like this is?" she asked rather gleefully.

"I'm not talking about this right now," Ace hissed as he studied the landscape. There was that distant thud again.

"Why not?" Marie asked cheerfully.

"Because," Ace started hoping to all hell that the sounds he had heard had been his imagination.

Marie opened her mouth to cut him off but before she could contribute anything more a muffled crackling boom echoed across the desert. Another boom immediately echoed it close enough so that Ace could hear the soft fwoosh as dry plant matter caught and burst into flame. The three exchanged wary looks and took off at a run in the direction of Outskirts.

They all knew what that particular series of sounds meant. Flashflame, that lovely time of year when the Border became a raging inferno, had started and no one wanted to be outside when the flames came close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you go. I hope you enjoyed that and that makes up for the cliffhanger from last update. I know its kinda short, but I like to have the next chapter done with edits before I post the one for the week and chapter 12 needed some major revisions. Again, sorry about that. Please let me know what you all think! I really enjoy hearing from you all. It makes me happy.


	12. Whichever Way the Winds Blow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which weather is weird for reasons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds

Ace hummed contentedly as he gazed out over the scrub desert he currently called home. It wasn't a sight he normally took much notice of but after being cooped up for two full days due to the start of Flashflame, being able to go outside for any amount of time was a blessing, and one he was going to take advantage of.

When it came to the differences between living in any of the territories or the Border it was often the weather more than anything else that was the deciding factor. If you didn't like the leader of the territory you lived in, more often than not you could leave. If you didn't like your neighbors you could move. This was not the case in the Border. In the Border, the forces of nature ran wild uncaring and unheeding of those who lived within it. Creatures and people alike either adapted or didn't. The lucky ones realized early that they were unable to survive the harsh conditions and left. Those who didn't died. It was that simple.

Unfortunately there was no real adapting to what occurred during Flashflame however. Unlike the weather in other areas, in Outskirts and the rest of the scrub desert that made up this stretch of the border, Flashflame was a highly irregular weather phenomenon as it was tied to the life cycle of a plant called the Cindicone.

For something that sparked an inferno every time it needed to propagate, the cindicone was a rather unassuming little thing. For most of the year it simply grew peacefully in patches, the ivy like leaves spreading haphazardly over the desert floor. The plants bloomed at random times, sending a sprinkling of small white four petaled flowers across the desert. As time passed, the white would eventually darken into a dark blue. The change in color was the indicator that trouble would be soon to follow. The darker the color, the riper the plant and the closer it was to producing a seedpod.

It was the seedpods that were source of Flashflame. The little maroon pineconeesque structures that eventually pushed past wilted dark blue petals were tightly sealed with a pale pink waxy coat which was highly flamable. That coat, for no discernable reason would occasionally stick around for weeks without releasing the seeds trapped behind it. Other times, it would scarcely last a full half chime before exploding in a fiery burst sending the next generation of seeds on their way. Once the first one in an area went off, it inevitably started a chain reaction that set the entire desert aflame. When things really got going the desert would burn for days on end. The large flames, noxious smell and thick smoke that the cindicone germination fires produced often shut down this entire section of the Border. Despite how boring it was, the residents of the area had long learned that the best way to handle this natural phenomenon was to simply wait it out in buildings designed to handle the intense heat and flames.

Ace took a sip from the mug of tea that he had brought outside with him. He absentmindedly scanned the scenery again looking to see if he could identify the cause of this reprieve. A small part of him was hoping that they'd just had an abnormally short Flashflame this year but the slightly dusty, sweet smoky smell that still permeated the air had him thinking that such a thing was highly unlikely. No the pause in the firestorm was more likely something else: lack of dry fuel, unripe cindicones, a user playing with the weather or maybe even the possibility of an out of season rainstorm.

A gust of wind ruffled Ace's hair indicating the most plausible explanation for what was currently occurring. Occasionally the wind would pick up and blow with enough force in the proper direction to beat back the flames and smoke. The end result was a bit of a reprieve. Unfortunately the minute the wind dropped or switched direction then the fires would return with a vengeance.

A new scent wafted by on the wind and Ace turned his head hoping that it didn't mean what he thought it did. No such luck. The new smell was vaguely reminiscent of rubbing alcohol, earth and ozone. Coupled with the fact that the wind was now picking up rather rapidly and the smell was increasing along with it, Ace started scanning the horizon paying special attention in the direction of the Agvitatmaa Mesa. There were a lot of good things that came out of Whitebeard's territory but favorable weather was not one of them. The residents of Outskirts tended to look that way first whenever bad weather appeared to be pending. "Lucky Bastards" Ace thought to himself as he continued to search the horizon for signs of whatever was coming. The mesa itself was too high for any of the more unfavorable weather patterns to wreak havoc on the city. No the nastiest weather tended to go around the sides of the mesa leaving the residents up there with a view reminiscent of a ship at sea.

Given the increase in the wind and the smell, Ace thought that they just might get one of the toxic dust storms that occasionally ran through the area. These storms, commonly called Dustblow, were one of the more mild weather patterns that the Border experienced. Loose sand and toxic dust picked up from the Sea of Dunes on the other side of the mesa were entrained in strong winds then funneled through the natural wind tunnel formed by the band of mesas at the edge of the desert, of which Agvitamaa was one. The end result was a short lived dust storm that blasted out all over the Border and the Abyss. A Dustblow occurring during Flashflame wasn't too unusual. Generally all that it meant was that there would be embers and ash flying alongside all of the dust. This tended to not be a terribly big problem as all the buildings in the border were constructed to resist these very conditions.

Of course the other potential weather phenomena would be Firefall. Firefall was a bit more uncommon than Dustblow but it was still not entirely unheard of. Firefall was when the rain caught fire. Unlike a Dustblow, Firefall only happened when Flashflame was occurring. No one really knew whether the cindicone explosions caught the rain on fire or if the rain ended up catching fire from some other reason but whatever the cause rain certainly didn't catch fire any other time of the year. Firefall was annoying and slightly more dangerous due to the random explosions that it caused as the burning rain interacted with the cindicones but it was nothing that they couldn't handle.

Unfortunately what Ace sighted behind the mesa was neither of these. It was much, much worse. What appeared to be a solid purple red wall topped with greenish clouds covered the horizon, stretching as far as the eye could see. The slowly rising sun cast an ominous red light across the desert, darkening the color of an abnormally large Dustblow on one side of the mesa to that of old blood. A flash of light from within the wall was the next thing to snag Ace's attention as he followed the jagged path of lightning back to the grey green clouds that were its source. This monstrosity was a Mudmist; an obnoxious combination of a rainstorm and Dustblow. The rain, along with being alarmingly viscous also tended to be highly poisonous when mixed with the sands a Dustblow carried.

A sudden shift in the wind drew Ace's attention away from the oncoming Storm and back out towards the desert that he called home. He knew what that meant. The Flashflame was about to resume and Ace couldn't help but stand in shock as he realized what exactly he was witnessing.

This wasn't just going to be Mudmist. The storm was going to be blown right over the Flashflame which meant that they were in for a Hubloo. A Hubloo was what happened when the Firefall, Dustblow and Flashflame all combined into one cataclysmic event. Ace had only heard of such things in stories that the older regulars liked to tell. He'd never experienced one for himself. They were incredibly rare and incredibly dangerous. Animals would attempt to outrun them or hunker down in their deepest burrows and hope that the storm passed by quickly. It was a rare plant that didn't burn down to the roots. In short, anything or anyone outside in Hubloo was toast, burnt toast to be precise.

Ace ran around to the other side of the building to see if anyone other than him was outside at the moment. The wind was picking up and the Hubloo would be upon them quickly. He was lucky. No one else was up this early in the morning. For goodness sake the sun hadn't even completely ascended into the sky. Instead it hung low, just over the horizon, painting everything not in the storm in a golden orange light.

Ace paused for a second to stare at it. He had known somewhere in the depths of his mind that it was early, but he hadn't realized it was quite this early. No wonder no one else was up. Normally he wouldn't be either but the Flashflame had messed with his ability to stick to the schedule that helped keep his narcolepsy in check. That coupled with the strong emotions that he had been feeling since the foray to Blackbeard's compound had been causing him to fall asleep at random times. That in turn had the unfortunate side effect of triggering the insomnia that often accompanied his condition.

It wasn't as if he could help the emotions though, Ace thought as he turned back to judge how long he had before the storm hit Outskirts. It was a vicious cycle. Ace kept imagining the worst-case scenario of what happened to Marco in the compound before having to remind himself that the Phoenix had been in the building. He had seen the bird and its two passengers. If the rumors about Whitebeard and the Phoenix were true then the Phoenix was one of the three commanders in the building when it collapsed and it rescued the two others. Unfortunately even that thought didn't always help Ace's emotional state because it was possible that Marco had still gotten injured when the building collapsed. What was even worse was that Ace knew he was not likely to find out if Marco had been injured or even worse perished any time soon. It wasn't as if anyone would care that Marco had made friends with a man who simply ran a sandwich shop. Besides no one other than Sabo knew for certain that Ace actually liked the guy.

Ace looked back at the storm. The winds were accelerating and the leading edge of the Mudmist had cleared the mesa. If he was reading the weather patterns correctly it would hit the Flashflame area and merge soon. That meant it would probably hit Outskirts within the next few minutes. He glanced at the road. There was an indistinct figure heading in the direction of the town. The figure wasn't moving slowly but it was clear that whomever it was hadn't realized that the storm was right behind them.

Ace peered at the figure and his heart nearly burst out of his chest as he recognized a familiar mop of blond hair. Marco was alive. He was alive and well and probably had come to demand answers to why Marie had been in the compound that he had destroyed but all of that could wait. Marco was all right. Ace sighed in relief then realized with a sudden shock that Marco was simply ambling along road, making no motion to hurry to shelter. Did he even know how much danger he was in? Probably not, if his reaction to Ace's warning about the weather the night Sabo came home was genuine.

Shit. Oh shit, shit, shit! Why did things like this have to keep happening?

To make matters worse Ace calculated that Marco would have barely enough time to make it to the Bar before the storm hit. Even that was entirely dependent upon how quickly he moved and only if he started running now. Ace would only get one chance at this.

Leaning out over the railing as far as he dared, Ace took in a large breath and yelled as loud as he was capable of doing so " **MARCO! RUN**!"

Ace couldn't breathe for a moment. Marco had noticed him yelling and instead of running like any sane person he just had to turn around and look. Of course he froze when he saw what he was supposed to be running from. Ace almost screamed with frustration. Thankfully for Ace's peace of mind Marco didn't freeze for long. He'd quickly assessed the situation and then taken off like a bat out of hell heading for Outskirts. Ace almost couldn't bear to watch but he couldn't make himself leave his position either. He thought he had lost the other man before he had ever managed to tell him how he felt and now he was faced with the possibility that he might lose Marco once again.

As Ace watched helplessly Marco practically flew down the road. He was going fast but Ace wasn't sure that it would be enough. He took another glance at the sky and swore. Earlier, one had been able to clearly see the sun slowly rising over the horizon between the line of rising smoke where the Flashflame currently was and the monstrous shifting purple grey green wall of sand and cloud that marked where Firefall and Dustblow were mixing into Mudmist. It had been rather pretty in an odd sort of way with the fire and smoke on one side, cloud and dust on the other framing the sun. This was no longer the case. The smoke and dust had now met and as Ace watched in horror, a brilliant flash lit up the desert as a massive pillar of flame shot up with a reverberating crash. The three natural disasters clashed as if they were fighting. The explosion seemed to spark something in the areas that had yet to mix. The Flashflame flared on its side and rushed forward with a renewed vigor while winds howled and pushed the Firefall and Dustblow forward, rapidly accelerating the formation of the Hubloo. Within moments the whole thing would become a cataclysm of epic proportions.

Ace looked down the road his heart in his throat. Despite Marco's incredible speed the storm was quickly closing the distance. In fact the storm was moving so fast Ace couldn't stay out here anymore. He needed to close up the few shutters he'd opened when Flashflame had subsided then get downstairs. Marco in all probability would need help getting inside. The seconds that it would take for him to deal with the heavy outside door on his own could very well be the difference between life and death.

Ace raced inside barely remembering to latch the balcony door and engage the shutters behind him. He raced through the apartment's living room and dove for the stairwell that led down into the bar proper. The sound of several something's hitting the building had Ace frantically increase his speed. He ended up vaulting down the stairs taking them three and four at a time. Ace was in such a hurry that he misjudged the turn in stairwell and he crashed into it with a resounding thud.

"Shit!" He muttered to himself as he pushed away from the wall and rushed down the rest of the stairs this time almost running face first into the door between the inner stair and the bar.

He could hear the hissing sound that indicated the leading edge of the Mudmist had made it to Outskirts. The main force of the Hubloo would be close behind. The hissing and scratching sound intensified mixed with the crackle of electricity and a thunderclap that rocked the building on its foundations. He didn't hear what he was listening for. There was no slamming of a door to let him know if Marco had managed to make it inside.

Ace felt the familiar feelings of worry and despair start to stir once again. As he struggled with the door into the bar a muffled thwump echoed through the building causing the windows to rattle in their frames behind the closed protective shutters. Ace knew that sound. That was the sound of the extremely flammable rain igniting. His steps faltered just as he reached the door at the bottom of the staircase. The Hubloo had reached the Outskirts and he still had no clue if Marco had made it inside or not.

Snippets of regrets and things he never had said, never even knew he had wanted to say fluttered around in Ace's head. Frustration and anger at his own incompetence in handling emotions surged through him to join the ocean of torment he was currently trying not to drown in. Why couldn't he get the damn door into the bar open? Why was he so incompetent when it came to feelings? If he had bothered to figure this shit out earlier then maybe, just maybe, he could have told Marco earlier. And now the other man was in all likelihood dead for the second time in a week.

Ace shook his head as if to forcefully dislodge that thought. He didn't know that Marco was dead, not for sure. There was still a chance. Not a large one, but one that he was going to cling to if it kept him afloat. A small part of his mind piped up and Ace shoved the thought away before he could even finish it. Nothing good ever came out of that corner of his mind. Why was this happening now? All he wanted to do was get the damn door open. He didn't have time for this. He needed to know what had happened. Despite his churning emotions and turbulent thoughts, Ace kept struggling with the door. Finally managing to get the latch up, Ace seized that small piece of hope with everything he had and nearly wrenched the door off its hinges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my faithful readers! And Hi to the people who are just finding this. I decided to move the entirety of the AN down here for a change. Also yeah, yall get another cliffhanger. Sorry. I do hope the made up science and weather patterns did not detract from the chapter. They're important. Anyways, please let me know what you all think! I cant wait to hear from you guys!


	13. Fanning the Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it has taken at least 49000 words, several near death experiences and a natural disaster for these two characters to finally get on the same page.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds. Much thanks to Lunarshores for dealing with all of my complaining and aggravation when the first draft of this chapter was being written. I appreciate it more than you know.

Well, Marco mused as he ambled down the Border Road that lead to The S’andwich Bar, the past few days had been a harsh teacher of a lesson that he had not thought that he needed to relearn. After fully turning into the phoenix to save his siblings, it had taken a full two days before he had managed to muster up the effort to become human once again.

Despite the inconvenience he had learned a few things from the experience. The most important lesson of course was don’t let 30 cycles pass without changing. The consequences were too severe in terms of loss of control. Shifting to his other form was not the indulgence he had treated it as. He could no longer regard it as a waste of time. It was a part of him, crucial to his wellbeing and something that should not be neglected. If he ignored it his own body would force him to transform sooner or later whether it was convenient or not. He had had also learned there were significant benefits to being in his other form for a bit. Physically he was feeling much better than he had in a long time. Mentally he felt better too. It was as if bathing in fire had burned away cobwebs in his mind that he hadn’t even been aware had existed.

Now that the mental fog had lifted he could think over the events of the last few clicks and it left him with a multitude of questions; vital questions that needed answers. For example, what the hell had Marie been doing at the compound? How had she even known of its existence? Was she responsible for the mayhem, death and destruction that they had stumbled upon? Did her tattoo really mark her as a member of the Card Deck or did it mean something else? How long had she been involved with the Card Deck? If Marie was involved with this group what did that say about David’s allegiances?

Marco shook his head. Maybe the mental lassitude wasn’t as gone as he’d thought. That last was a rather stupid question. Where Marie went David followed and vice versa. There was no way Marie was involved with the Card Deck without David. The two had been practically attached at the hip for as long as he had known the pair. The only time he had ever seen them otherwise was when Ace was in the vicinity. Did that mean they were watching Ace? Protecting him for some reason? What purpose would that serve? Had they simply employed themselves at the bar as a way to find out information about Blackbeard? Did Ace even know that Marie was part of that group?

That last thought led to a new series of questions, ones that he had not seriously considered before. Was Ace himself a member of the Card Deck? Ace did resemble the description that Jinbie had given of the fighter called Spade. Ace was also most likely an ability user. His extreme reaction to the initial news of the Hunts as well as the symbol on the shop sign left little doubt in Marco’s mind about that. Unfortunately he hadn’t asked him about it or seen anything to indicate the nature of Ace’s ability so what exactly it entailed was anyone’s guess. No, Marco realized that with the information he currently had he couldn’t rule out the possibility that Ace was somehow involved with the Card Deck.

He also couldn’t exonerate him either. While Marco hadn’t ever heard anything incriminating during the afternoons he had visited he really hadn’t been paying close attention. He had chosen the S’andwich Bar because it was close enough that he could assist his family if needed but it was far enough away that he wouldn’t be immediately recognized for his position. In addition he had chosen the times he had visited so that the chance he would be recognized was relatively slim. All that meant was if the Card Deck was using the bar somehow then it would be relatively easy to hide their business from him because he wouldn’t be lost or forgotten in a crowd of patrons.

Marco thought back over all of the things that they he and Ace had talked about. Not once had Blackbeard ever come up. Though to be fair, he had never asked Ace about Blackbeard. Actually, when it came right down to it, he had never asked Ace a lot of things and not all of them pertained to what Ace might or might not be involved. No, Ace’s activities and associations made up less than half of the questions that Marco wanted answered. It was, in fact, answers to a much simpler set of questions that Marco was more interested in knowing. He had no idea where Ace was from, why he chose to live in the border, why despite the dangers his brothers lived with him, if he had any family outside of his brothers and so on. They were not terribly critical questions, but they were interesting questions nonetheless and there were way too many of them.

Of course, Marco thought, even if he asked the questions getting Ace to actually answer any of them would be difficult at best. Marco did not fancy ruining whatever the hell their relationship was developing into by prying into Ace’s personal business. That had been perhaps the most interesting revelation from his time as a phoenix. Emotions were much simpler and much easier to accept when he didn’t have to worry about social constraints. The apparent depth of his feelings for Ace while in phoenix form had been slightly surprising. He still wasn’t quite sure what had held him back from flying to outskirts, sitting on the roof of the S’andwich bar and singing his ardor for everyone within earshot to hear. It had happened before after all. Maybe the phoenix had finally realized that things were hard enough navigate as a human. Throwing legendary user ability into the mix was a good way to send the object of your affections running for the hills.

Marco was grateful that he’d managed to refrain from an overt display of avian affection. He’d just have to keep showing his interest in the same old fashioned human way. And unless he was misreading and misremembering things, Ace was certainly interested in him as well. Marco wanted to let things to continue to develop before complicating things like abilities and powers came into play.

They had been progressing nicely and Marco hoped that getting the answers he needed would not disrupt that progress. Maybe it was time to come clean to Ace about who he actually was and offer that by way of explanation on why he had to ask those questions in the first place and leave the answers up to Ace’s discretion. That would be the best way to deal with it he decided. With a tentative action plan firmly established Marco picked up his pace. The sooner he could get this done the sooner he would figure out if this was going to piss off his friend and if they were even going to still be friends by the end of the day.

A voice screaming his name caught his attention and Marco’s head snapped up to see Ace practically falling off the balcony of the second floor of the S’andwich Bar in an attempt to get Marco’s attention.

“Wha?” He half whispered to himself as the second part of Ace’s scream caught up to him. Run? From what?

He watched as Ace pointed to something behind him and Marco whirled around to see whatever it was that had gotten Ace so worked up and froze. Time seemed to slow as Marco took in the wall of the toxic purple red soil that stretched across the horizon. Greenish grey clouds raced overhead, as if land and sky were racing to see who could block out the slowly rising sun first. Occasionally, a bolt of lightning would jump down from a cloud to illuminate one section of the wall of dust. As he watched one of the bolts split rather abruptly sending a cascading series of flashes across the face of the oncoming storm. A distant noise, sounding vaguely like a muffled explosion followed, presumably what happened when the lightning finally touched down somewhere. It was majestic and beautiful in the uncaringly dangerous way that only nature in its full fury could be and it was headed right towards him at breathtaking speed.

“Shit.” Marco whispered and just like that the moment was broken. Time resumed its normal pace and Marco took off at a run towards Ace’s like his life depended upon it. Given the circumstances, it probably did.

The road seemed to stretch in front of him and Marco knew without a doubt that he was not going to make it inside in time. Not as he was. He was a man racing a storm, a man racing against the full fury of nature. But that was not all he was. He was also a phoenix, famed for his ability to survive what others couldn’t. Sometimes that meant healing from wounds that would normally kill a man. Other times that meant enhancing natural abilities to avoid situations where he would be wounded like that in the first place. What he needed now was the latter.

Winds howled from just behind him, sending a scattering of dust and sediment across the back of his legs before snatching it away. A strange itching pain was left in its wake, but Marco had no time to figure out what was causing it or where the injury had come from. Blue flames sprung from nowhere in particular and licked his skin devouring the injury and giving Marco a much-needed burst of speed. The storm was picking up, even more than it had been and Marco looked up from the road. He was so close, so very close. Hand outstretched, his fingertips had barely touched the door when he was practically thrown into it by a shockwave.

Marco yanked the door open just wide enough to slip inside as blue flames flared to life, healing his injuries. They didn’t subside immediately like Marco had expected, they persisted, casting an unnatural blue glow into the bar. He glanced around, attempting to figure out what it was that was causing the injury that his flames were still healing when he noticed the still open door. Of course. He already knew that there was something up with the sand and here he was just letting the hazardous material into Ace’s home.

He had just turned to push the door closed when the windows rattled and the entire building shook as a peal of thunder sounded reminding Marco uncomfortably of what had happened only two days ago. He had no time to dwell on that though. The door was being held open by the wind. Marco started pushing harder at the door. As he did he realized that the sound of the wind and sand hitting the building was starting to change. Marco did not know what that change in sound meant but he guessed it was nothing good. Surging forward, Marco slammed the door shut just in time to hear something that sounded remarkably like a fire igniting on the other side.

Marco sagged against the closed door as his blue flames finally died down returning the room to darkness. That had been much too close for his liking. Another flash of lightning illuminated the bar momentarily just as the door to the interior stairwell crashed open. Marco saw Ace stumble out and watched as he sighed in relief when he spotted Marco leaning against the door. It was clear that Ace had been worried that Marco hadn’t made it inside.

“Oh thank the Gods” slipped out as Ace practically threw himself across the floor at his friend.

Marco stepped away from the door to catch him but it didn’t matter much because Ace’s momentum carried them back into the door with a harsh bang. The noise Marco’s back made hitting the door seemed a mockery of the explosions outside. Ace’s hands caught the lapels of Marco’s shirt and the pair stared at each other for a rather poignant second.

Marco only had a moment to catalog all of the differing emotions he could see on Ace’s face. Relief, joy, and love leavened with a bit of anger and exasperation were clear for anyone to see. Marco, however, did not expect the end result of all that emotion as Ace appeared to suddenly decide to throw caution to the winds and pressed his lips to Marco’s in an urgent and desperate kiss. It seemed as if Ace was attempting to convey the depths of all his emotions that he wasn’t sure how to voice in a tangible, physical way. Marco was stunned but Ace didn’t appear to notice as he pulled away.

“Holy shit Marco!” he exclaimed the relief evident in his tone. “You nearly gave me a heart attack when I spotted you out on the road. What the hell are you doing here this early? Didn’t you realize that Flashflame had started?”

Marco blinked slowly. He was having a hard time processing as Ace looked up at him. He raised a hand to his lips and looked at Ace, surprised at the sheer amount of emotion the younger man had just expressed. His brain was whirling with the realization that Ace was just as attracted to him as he was to Ace.  

Unfortunately Ace froze as he had apparently just realized what exactly he had just done. He stepped back from Marco looking slightly apologetic rather than embarrassed by what had just happened. It was clear, at least to Marco, that Ace thought that he had really screwed things up. Watching Ace’s face Marco could almost see the thoughts running through his head. It was obvious that Ace was berating himself for ruining one of, if not the best, friendships he’d ever had.

“Sorry,” Ace said softly while taking a step backwards, “Sorry, Marco. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have… it’s just, you’re alive and I thought…it really freaked me out when… and I would have never gotten to tell you but clearly I was reading too much into things. Shit I’m so sorry Marco. I didn’t mean to screw everything up.”

Ace winced, presumably at the rambling babble that was pouring from his mouth. He then looked down at the floor as if couldn’t bear to look at Marco for fear of what he would see.

Marco realized that he had to do something about this and fast. He took a couple of steps and reached out, putting a hand on Ace’s arm. Ace froze in place and Marco had to tug lightly in an effort to pull him closer.

“Hey, hey no.” Marco said softly but Ace didn’t look up at him. “Shhh. None of that now Ace.”

Marco could tell from the muscle tension he could feel in Ace’s are that the younger man was rather confused. Ace clearly didn’t know if he could trust what he was hearing in Marco’s voice. Marco saw that he was caught in a dilemma of indecision; he didn’t know, didn’t really want to know, was sort of afraid to know, but really needed to know, what Marco was attempting to express.

“Ace, look at me? Please?” Marco asked his voice still soft.

Ace swallowed before complying.   Silver eyes met blue as Marco moved his other hand up to cup Ace’s face. “There,” He said with his voice still soft, “much better.”

Ace blinked in confusion, “You’re not upset?” he questioned.

Marco had to smile. “No, not at all; quite the opposite in fact,” Marco hastened to explain himself. “I don’t know what you were talking when you said you’d ruined everything. You haven’t ruined anything Ace. I was just surprised. I hadn’t realized that you returned my interest.”

Marco’s brushed his thumb gently across Ace’s cheek and he leaned in, impossibly close. From this distance Marco could see Ace’s eyes dilate and feel his breathing pick up as he registered Marco’s intent.

“May I?”

It was clear Ace couldn’t speak due to an overwhelming surge of emotion. All he could do was nod fractionally. Marco took that as assent and pressed his lips to Ace’s. The kiss was sweet, chaste and a promise of more.

As Marco started to pull away Ace gasped. His brain apparently had suddenly caught up with the rest of him realizing exactly what Marco was attempting to convey. _Message received_ , Marco thought somewhat amusedly to himself as he found Ace enthusiastically returning the kiss.

They broke apart after a moment; forehead’s resting against one another as their breath mingled. Ace grinned apparently unable to help it and Marco returned it with one of his own.

Marco watched as Ace came to grips with the realization that the person he liked fancied him as well. Sabo had caused a similar reaction in Marco with his questions and Marco was still processing it. Marco was perfectly content to wait until Ace wrapped his head around the staggering idea. After all, he’d been dealing with it for several days now and still didn’t quite comprehend it.

Marco was a bit surprised when Ace closed the miniscule gap that was still between them. He pressed his lips to Marco’s and this time the kiss was anything but chaste. Tongues tangled and took turns exploring the other’s mouth while hands wandered. An arm snaked around Marco’s waist holding him in place as the kiss deepened. Ace seemed to be intent on proving that Marco was really present and not going anywhere. Marco supposed that this was understandable. Ace had just almost seen him get fried by the Flashflame on steroids or whatever it was that was going on outside. Without knowing about his Phoenix nature Ace wouldn’t understand that the storm would have merely caused him discomfort and pain rather than perishing, thus a bit of overreaction was expected.

Still he couldn’t say that he wasn’t enjoying it. No, he was enjoying this immensely. Now the question was how far would this go? Marco contemplated whether or not to pull away and ask when a hand landed on his ass and gripped. Well, that answered that. Marco returned the favor and slipped his thigh between Ace’s legs. He was rewarded by Ace’s hips grinding against him providing friction that neither of them had known they had needed until mere moments ago. Ace groaned and Marco hummed in response. Finally Ace reluctantly pulled away from the kiss panting heavily and placed his head against Marco’s shoulder.

Marco let out a smug chuckle that rumbled through them both. It quickly turned into a groan as Ace turned his head and nipped lightly at the exposed skin of his neck. Ace didn’t tease him long. With faint sigh of regret Ace pulled away.

Slightly puzzled, Marco looked at Ace questioningly. He thought he knew that the younger man wanted but he wanted to be sure. If this was going where Marco thought it was the bar was not at all appropriate or comfortable for continued activities. Marco didn’t have to wait long before Ace made his intentions crystal clear.

“Come on.” Ace said, clearly struggling to keep his voice even. He backpedaled slowly pulling Marco along with him.

“Where?” Marco replied huskily. His attention was focused primarily on Ace at this point. It didn’t matter where Ace was going, he’d follow.

“Upstairs.” Ace said as he continued to back across the floor of the shop.

Marco was very much in favor of that idea. Upstairs was where Ace presumably lived and would have a bedroom with a bed; a bed that would shortly be put to good use if Marco had any say at all in the matter. Marco licked his lips in anticipation letting Ace see the desire that suddenly rose up like his flames to consume him.

Ace had just managed to get through the doorway into the interior stairwell when he caught a good look at Marco’s face. Whatever he saw in Marco’s eyes caused him to miss the first step. Only Marco’s quick reflexes saved Ace from the rather embarrassing fate of falling up the stairs.

Macro throttled back his lust for a moment. If he didn’t he realized there was no way they’d even make it to the bed without one or the other of them ending up injured. Ace apparently agreed since he squiggled out of Marco’s embrace and practically sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Ace paused at the landing and half turned, “Bedroom?” with a smile and extending his hand.

“I think,” Marco growled softly back, “that is a very good idea."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeeey guys! So this is late. Like, a week late. I am so sorry about that. Seriously. Im not sure you all know how sorry I am. For those who are interested, Science exploded and furniture is really heavy and two weeks of dealing with that makes a person hella exhausted. Ah well. Anyways I hope yall liked the chapter! It was the most frustrating thing to write. Seriously. Anywho, feedback would be seriously appreciated, especially on this chapter because this is the first time Ive ever written anything like this and I'd like to know what you thought of it. Thats all from me. Till next time!


	14. In the Eye Of A Hurricane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emotions make everything complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds.

The storm raged on outside of the windows of his bedroom. Soft muted light filtered in from outside, alternating in its intensity as fireballs bloomed and lightning struck various points of the desert. Despite the storm, the air was warm, humid and hazy giving the impression of moving through honey. Ace hummed in contentment as he remembered the events of earlier that morning.

He had been unable to speak when Marco had asked permission to kiss him. All he had been capable of was a small nod. But that kiss, Ace was still having trouble believing that it had happened. Things this good simply didn’t happen to him. And that kiss had been good. More than good. It had been a promise of more and prompted a rather startling realization.

Marco liked him as well. That news had been and quite frankly was still staggering. Against all odds Marco, who could have anyone he wanted, liked him and the only reason that Ace even had a chance to tell him how much Marco had come to mean to him was due to dumb luck. The other had survived not one but two near death experiences within the past few days. It was nuts.

Earlier, that sudden reminder had left Ace with an undeniable desire to prove to himself that this wasn’t some sort of dream or fantasy that Marco was truly here. He had pressed his lips to Marco’s once again and this time the kiss was anything but chaste. Their tongues had tangled and took turns exploring the other’s mouth while hands wandered. When a hand landed on his ass and a thigh slipped between his providing friction that he hadn’t known he needed until moments ago Ace had groaned and pulled away from the kiss panting heavily to rest his head against Marco’s shoulder. Marco had been smug, as evidenced by the chuckle that had rumbled through them both. It had quickly turned into a groan when Ace turned his head and nipped lightly at the exposed skin of the other’s neck. He didn’t stay long though because Ace knew where this was heading, or more accurately where he wanted this to head and the bar was not the place for that.

Now, while the reminder of Marco’s not demise was still nerve wracking it didn’t concern Ace in the way that it had. Not at this moment in time anyways. They had managed to work out that they both had feelings for each other and act on them. Now Ace was pleasantly sore in what he certainly considered the best way. Marco was alive and returned his feelings. Ace grinned again at that knowledge and shifted closer, a hand lazily snaking up to rest upon Marco’s chest. He just wanted to lie there for a little longer and bask in comfort of the moment. A soft kiss was pressed to the top of his head, letting him know that Marco was also awake, but no words were exchanged. It appeared that Marco simply wanted to spend the moment in comfortable silence as well. Marco shifted his arm to accommodate Ace’s movement and his hand started to trace lazy nonsensical patterns over his hip as they both watched spectacular light show occurring outside the window just a few feet away.

“Ace,” Marco said softly.

“Hmm?”

“We need to talk.”

“About what?” Ace questioned.

There were several things that they could be discussing right now. Ace figured that they needed to talk about a lot of things ranging from personal stuff that Ace simply hadn’t ever told anyone to the entire situation dealing with the Card Deck. Frankly Ace had no idea what if any of the outstanding issues it would be.

He still had no clue as to what he was going to say if Marco asked about the Card Deck. He owed it to the rest of the Deck to make sure that Marco understood they were not a threat to Agvitatmaa. He also owed the rest of the Deck, David and Marie in particular, to ensure that their chances at vengeance were not ruined because of his idiocy. He really had screwed up big time by not telling them who Marco was the moment that he had recognized the other man.

The entire talking situation would be a lot easier if Marco’s questions were only about Ace. Those he would and could answer truthfully. Well at least mostly truthfully, maybe just not completely. Ace’s brain whirred and something inside him still balked at confessing all of his secrets. Ok, he corrected his previous thought. He would answer most of those questions truthfully at least the ones that didn’t infringe on other’s secrets. Unfortunately, Ace knew that the questions Marco undoubtedly had would involve many people other than Ace himself. No matter what Ace wouldn’t reveal other people’s secrets at least not willingly. His friends had suffered enough betrayal in their lives and he’d already personally contributed to that betrayal, directly in David and Marie’s case and indirectly for others. There was no way in heck he was going to add any more to the mix.

“Hey, breathe.” said Marco as he gathered Ace into a full body hug. “You’re thinking too hard.”

“Huh?” was the only thing Ace could think to say as he was jolted out of his thoughts by the sudden solidity of Marco’s arms around him.

“You’re thinking too much. There are a lot of things we need to talk about, but before we even get there, well…” Marco paused and Ace could feel him take a deep breath. “I need to tell you something; something important; something about who I am. After I tell you if you want to kick me out of bed and tell me to get lost then I will.”

Ace blinked. Well that was unexpected. Marco was offering to get lost but the older man’s body was telling a different story. His arms were still wrapped around Ace and he was holding on as if nothing would convince him to let go. Still, Ace couldn’t help but attempt to tease the other man slightly.

“Who you are? You’re Marco.” Ace said snuggling a bit closer and sticking his nose into the hollow of Marco’s throat.

He felt Marco huff, “It’s a little more complicated than that Ace.”

Ace smiled into Marco’s neck, “Oh. Well, you can say it if you want but I’m pretty sure I already know what you are going to tell me.”

“Really?”

“Really, really!”

“You know that I’m the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Enforcers?” Marco asked in a rather indignant tone

Ace raised his head and squiggled in Marco’s arms so he could see Marco’s face. He chuckled at Marco’s expression. Marco looked thoroughly put out so Ace kissed him. After a brief enjoyable interlude they stopped to catch their breath.

Before Ace could start kissing him again Marco pointedly asked “How?”

“How what?” Ace decided that if Marco wasn’t going to be derailed from the conversation then he deserved to be teased.

Marco refused to be baited, “How did you know?”

“Well,” Ace replied with a grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows, “your tattoo isn’t entirely inconspicuous and I just spent the past hour or so becoming very well acquainted with it.”

Marco’s grin turned smug again and he chuckled while Ace grinned.

“But I kinda knew before that,” Ace continued.

Marco’s expression turned questioning and Ace shrugged, “I had my suspicions from the beginning but I didn’t make the connection at the end of the 2nd click. Right about the time you had become a regular.”

“And you never said anything?” Marco asked and Ace shook his head. “To anyone?”

“Why would I?” Ace countered as he snuggled into Marco’s side. “I’ll admit that I was a bit suspicious at first because I couldn’t figure out what you were looking for when you first started showing up. When you kept coming back I realized that you weren’t looking for anything other than a place to simply be yourself. If you had wanted me to know, you would have told me.”

“And it doesn’t bother you?” Marco asked even as he pulled Ace close once again.

“What?”

“That I’ve practically been lying to you about this since we’ve met.”

“No?” Ace was a bit confused buy the turn that the conversation was taking. “I make my living running a Bar in the Border. If I was offended by people lying to me I would have stopped running a bar a long time ago. Besides, I know that you know there’s more to keeping this place running than that.”

Marco made a little affirmative sound.

I do have to ask though,” Ace raised his head to look Marco in the eye, “is there anyone who’s ever fooled by that Merchant Scout routine that you gave me?”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that it works,” Marco stuck out his lower lip in a mock pout. “Quite well most of the time. It’s the perfect mix of importance to be able to get into certain areas but still low enough on the totem pole that people speak freely around me.”

Ace grinned, “It’s kinda ridiculous.”

Marco huffed, “Your brother said the same thing.”

“I’m not surprised. He’s right, but then again Sabo’s usually right about a lot of things. He was right about us at any rate.” Ace rolled over so that he was lying on his stomach and could look directly at Marco without craning his neck, “and while it’s usually really annoying I’m rather thankful he was correct in this case.”

“Um huh,” Marco agreed, “I know all about annoying siblings saying _I told you so_ at the most inopportune moments.”

Ace watched Marco closely. The man was relaxed but something was still bothering him. Ace decided to bite the bullet and see if he could get to the bottom of whatever it was.

“As amazing as this all is, I’m pretty sure that’s not what had you heading out this way so early in the morning.”

“It wasn’t.” Marco said

“I figured,” Ace said. “You gonna tell me what it was?”

“I’m trying to figure out how to. You completely derailed all of my plans.”

“I... what?”

“I have some questions. Unfortunately they are not easy questions and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship by asking a bunch of questions on subjects that a merchant scout shouldn’t know about in the first place and had no business in asking in the second. I figured I would come clean about who I was, why I needed to know the answers and just let you answer whichever ones you wanted to.”

“And why can’t you do this now?” Ace asked “I mean, I’m likely to do exactly that anyway.”

Marco huffed, “I just feel like I’m taking advantage because we’re now both aware of the emotions which are involved here.”

Ace snorted as he crawled forward slightly so that he could give Marco a quick kiss.

“That’s awfully sweet but misguided of you. If I was concerned about it or felt that you were taking advantage of me way I wouldn’t even be offering to answer.” Ace thought for a moment then admitted, “and we also wouldn’t be having this conversation at all. I’d have just let you ask and spun you a tale. If it bothers you so much then don’t let me push you into asking your questions anyways.”

Marco sighed as he appeared to mull that over. It was clear as the nose on his face that he was conflicted. Duty vs affection; Ace knew that dilemma all too well. What one to choose if you can’t do both. Ace bit his lip and worried it between his teeth. How could he help Marco out of this bind? Suddenly it occurred to him.

“How about this? I’ll adopt Sabo’s rules. I know you’re familiar with them,” Ace offered. “I can tell you right now that I may not, more likely will not, be able to give you answers to everything you want to know,” he warned. Ace realized that they had to get the ground rules straight before any potentially sensitive information was given otherwise this relationship, whatever it turned into, would never be able to progress beyond a one-time roll in the hay. “And that’s something that’s not likely to change. Not all of the secrets I hold are my own. While I don’t mind sharing information, I refuse to share the secrets belonging to certain others unless I know with absolute certainty that they wouldn’t mind you knowing.”

“That’s fine. I understand. There are going to be times when I have to do the same,” Marco said and there was a note of satisfaction in his voice.

Ace took a good look at his new lover to make sure that Marco had considered all the ramifications of what Ace had offered. Marco looked right back at him, a small smile on his face. Yep, Ace thought to himself, this was going to be tricky to keep any secrets at all from Marco and it was also clear that Marco was going to have the same problem on his side. While it would be difficult Ace also knew, if this morning was any indication at all, that it would be oh so worth it.

“So,” Ace said softly, “Just what did you want to know?”

“At this particular moment? What kind of storm is this and how long does it last?”

Ace blinked at the sudden non sequitur but went with it anyways, “You don’t know?”

“No.”

“Huh. I guess they don’t ever make it up to the top of the Mesa otherwise you’d recognize it.”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I recognized it,” Marco snorted. “I’ve never seen something look quite that noxious or move that fast before.”

While there was a complex explanation he could give about how and why the storm looked and acted like it did Ace went with the simple one, “When Flashflame, the rain and those toxic dust storms mix they create something called a Hubloo. There’s no one definite duration of one of these things either. It could take anywhere from a few more hours to a month or so for it to clear up.”

“That’s… interesting.” Marco said with a small frown pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Why?” Ace asked suddenly in an attempt to distract Marco from whatever new thought was plaguing him. “Do you have somewhere you need to be?”

“Not at the moment, no. My family is used to me disappearing on occasion,” Marco said as he pulled Ace closer to him. Ace squirmed slightly making himself comfortable in Marco’s arms. “Besides,” Marco continued, “it means I get to spend time with you. Not a bad trade in my opinion especially since the odds are that we’ll be uninterrupted for a minimum of a few hours.”

Ace laughed softly as the fuzzy feelings that he was getting from those words fluttered pleasantly in his stomach while the actual warmth of having someone he loved beside him began turn into something entirely different and he shifted once again.

“I hope you feel the same after all of this. Even I get tired of being stuck indoors with just me for company after a few days.”

Marco chuckled and the sound was something that Ace knew he wouldn’t mind hearing for the rest of his life.

“I could never,” Marco said and proceeded to kiss Ace rather soundly again. “What about your questions?” he asked as they separated.

“Later,” Marco said. “We’ll have time to talk later. I don’t want to waste time now worrying about things that I won’t be able to deal with until the storm calms. If that’s alright with you?”

“That’s perfectly fine by me,” Ace said with a wicked grin taking the question as an invitation and decided to take things in hand, literally. That of course provoked retaliation in kind from Marco. Ace agreed that there would be time to muddle through the crazy mess of emotions and tangled web of explanations that they both needed to get off their chests, including the truth about Ace’s own identity later. Right now he was simply going to enjoy what he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Its been a while. Sorry about that. Ive been dealing with the aftermath of the aforementioned science explosion. I want to make this warning in advance that it may be another two weeks before you get the next chapter as well. In the middle of this upcoming week, my life is about to get crazy hectic again and I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to post. Again, sorry in advance, and hopefully this is not the case. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Please let me know what you think about it. Again, this is the first time that I've ever written anything like this and it would be seriously appreciated if you would let me know what you think.


	15. The Debriefing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things start to get serious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds.

“What are you doing?” A curious voice asked from the doorway.

Marco didn’t even bother to look up from his current self-assigned task of catching up on work. Surely whoever it was could deduce that he was busy. An occupied office with a closed door was usually an indication to most people that the owner of the office did not want to be disturbed. But no, some idiot had opened the door a few minutes ago and had proceeded to stand there presumably waiting for Marco to notice him or her. Marco was not in the mood to oblige the interloper with the gift of his attention.

“Marco,” the voice said again, sounding entirely too amused for no apparent reason, “Oi birdbrain, I know you can hear me. What are you doing?”

Well, that certainly answered the question of who it was. Only Thatch would bother him while he was working and call him birdbrain at the same time. Marco paused for a moment, contemplating if it would be worth it to acknowledge his brother but decided against it. The storm or Hubloo as Ace had named it had trapped him at the S’andwich Bar for just over a week. It had been nice, Marco mused as he suppressed the grin that threatened to surface with the memories. The time in Outskirts had been spent between some of the most interesting conversation he had ever had and, well, other pleasurable activities. The grin escaped his control for a moment.

Enough of that Marco decided and forcibly dragged his attention back to the papers in his hand. Being away for over a week had caused a lot of pileup. If he wanted to be able to make it back to the Border anytime soon he needed to finish these. Thankfully someone from further down the hall caught Thatch’s attention before he could pester Marco anymore and he allowed the conversation to wash over him as he continued working.

“Did you say Marco? He’s here?” A voice echoed in a way that suggested that the speaker was a ways down the hall and hadn’t quite reached the door yet.

“Yeah,” said Thatch cheerfully. “He’s here and working. It’s kinda strange actually I’ve been standing here for a few minutes and he hasn’t so much as looked away from his paperwork. He hasn’t stopped humming to himself either. Oh and he’s been smiling intermittently at nothing in particular.”

“He’s doing what?”

“Humming, and smiling at his paperwork.” Thatch repeated to the interested busy-body who, judging by the sounds had reached Thatch who was still holding the door open.

Marco decided to tune the rest of the conversation out. If they were simply going to start repeating things that had already been said there was no point in paying attention. Not that he had really been paying full attention to anything other than his paperwork anyways. The conversation in the doorway could go on just fine without his input he thought as he picked up the next report and started to read.

Marco had barely managed to skim the first page of the report before a pair of hands slammed down on his desk. The dark blue painted nails told him exactly who had invaded his office. Marco slowly raised his head only to meet Izo’s furious gaze. Izo was clearly pissed off. His dark blue eye shadow made this eyes glitter in a way that promised pain. Marco was surprised that Izo didn’t start yelling. Instead he just glared leaning straight armed on the desk. .

It was Marco who ended up breaking the rather tense silence, “Izo.”

“Where. The. Hell. Have. You. Been?” Izo hissed his hands clenching on the desk.

Marco blinked. Izo was so annoyed he was shaking.

“Out.”

“Out?” Izo huffed and rolled his eyes, “Thank you for that highly enlightening and informative statement!”

Marco attempted to diffuse the situation, “You all knew I went out. I left word.”

Izo wasn’t ameliorated by the statement.

“We were worried you dipshit. Do you even know what happened while you were _out_ as you put it?”

This was not going well at all, Marco thought. Usually he could calm Izo down by pointing out facts. Unfortunately everything he said or did right now seemed to wind his brother up even more. It was time to try another tack.

Marco narrowed his eyes, “No, I’m barely halfway through the backed up paperwork. I haven’t had a chance to look at anything from the time I managed to get you and Thatch alive out of that burning compound. If it hadn’t been for me using my Ability you guys would have been severely injured at best and toast at the worst.”

“About that!” Izo exclaimed. “That’s part of the reason that I’ve almost had it with you. I want to know what the hell you were thinking! You really had us worried Marco! Nearly losing control when we first confronted those flames was one thing but not being able to shift back to your human form for nearly two days is another matter entirely! Seriously! Then you just up and leave? What the hell? The last we saw of you that night was when Jozu dragged you to bed after you finally managed to regain human form and nearly face planted from exhaustion!” Izo’s voice had been getting louder and louder as he went on. “ _I’m going out for lunch_ is NOT a sufficient explanation for running off given all the shit that’s been going on around here especially since you left before 6 in the effing morning!”

Marco had to acknowledge that Izo did have cause to yell. When you put things together that way his behavior hadn’t been terribly clear. He could see how his siblings might be a bit concerned especially since he’d taken off as soon as he’d recovered from his shift into bird form and back. The next bit was going to be a bit tricky. How could he satisfy his brother without revealing sensitive information? That didn’t even touch the fact that he really didn’t want his siblings to get wind of his love affair at least until he had a chance to warn Ace about the impending invasion of the S’andwich Bar that would ensue when they did find out.

“I needed some answers to some things I discovered at the compound, so, I went to get them.”

“What? Why didn’t I know about this? I had all of the papers!”

“It wasn’t anything in the documents Izo. It was just some observations I’d made when I was trying to catch up to you guys. There were also a few coincidences that turned out not to be coincidences at all.”

“Why didn’t you tell us instead of going off on your own?” Thatch questioned as he moved into the room proper and plopped down into one of the chairs in front of Marco’s desk.

“We were so fucking worried!” Izo tacked onto the end of that statement as he stopped leaning on the desk and looked around for a chair.

“We were so worried.” Thatch echoed in a slightly mocking tone of voice.

He received a swat on the shoulder from Izo for his cheek. Thatch took it with good grace and grinned up at Izo. Izo made a face back.

While Marco had to smile at Thatch’s jesting he could still see the underlying seriousness in Thatch’s expression. Thatch may express things differently but he had been just as worried as Izo and for many of the same reasons.

“Sorry,” Marco said though he wasn’t really.

While he was sorry for the amount of worry that he had apparently caused though if he had a chance to do it again, he would. Had he stayed the others would not have let him confront Ace on his own and things would have ended up developing very differently. Knowing what he knew now, Marco understood that if he had not been alone Ace wouldn’t have told him anything. No, Ace would have spun a believable tale and then would have discouraged their continued association. Judging by the glare Izo shot him as he claimed the other seat he knew very well that Marco’s apology was only for appearances sake.

“It wasn’t just that you’d vanished on us,” Izou continued, “because you’ve done that before. It was more the fact that you didn’t come back or get word to us until now. Normally you at least leave a detailed note!”

Sensing that he wouldn’t get any sort of explanation until he provided one of his own Marco sighed, “I honestly don’t know why I didn’t leave a better note. I thought it was obvious. I went to see Ace.”

“Ace?” Izo questioned.

There it was. Izo had that look that he got on occasion. It did not bode well for any of Marco’s secrets. Izo would keep digging and digging until he thought he’d unearthed every last shred of information on the topic in question.

“Yes,” Marco said meeting that gaze head on. If he did anything different Izo would notice right away. His relationship with Ace was too new to risk like that. No he would just have to respond as he always did when Izo was attempting to chase down information.

“Ace runs a Bar out in the border,” Marco explained. “He hears things and I thought he would have some of the answers I needed so I headed that way. I ended up getting stuck in a storm that rolled through. It was seriously nasty and I couldn’t exactly leave once it had started.”

“Didn’t you think to call?” Thatch wanted to know and Marco snorted.

“Oh I thought about it all right but Transfracts barely work in Outskirts in the first place. The odds of one working in a fiery electrical sandstorm were astronomical. That doesn’t even mention the fact that Ace doesn’t even have one at his place. Now spill. What’s happened?”

Izo took a deep breath and started in. “While you were busy being a bird the World Collective sent a missive demanding that we surrender all information we had on a series of so called _dangerous criminals_ who they were pursuing. As near as we could tell they are mostly Devil’s Abilities users. In addition, some of the _criminals_ they wanted information on were aliases belonging to a good majority of us. Pops refused of course. The World Collective went off in a huff about it making what we thought were the usual empty threats. You turned back that night and collapsed before anyone could fill you in. By the next morning when anyone thought to look you’d vanished. Pops didn’t appear to be too worried about it which kept the rest of us from doing a territory wide search. We figured that Pops would know if anything bad had happened. Then the storms started up.”

“Anyone hurt?” Marco inquired

“The citizens are fine thankfully but part of a caravan was caught on the lower paths when the first one hit. No one survived. We don’t get them that bad up here but did you know that when combined with the rain, the sandstorms turn toxic?”

“Yes.” Marco said dryly.

Izo huffed at the interruption even though he’d invited it with his question and continued, “Anyway each storm didn’t last too long. What was curious though was they kept hitting with an alarming frequency and ferocity. Fortunately the city itself is too high for the sands to reach but we got rain, hail and some serious wind. In addition, the sand storms in the lower area made it near impossible to get into or out of the territory. No one knew when the next storm was going to hit and no one wanted to chance getting caught in the sand storm if it decided to rain. We ended up cut off from a lot of our allies for the entirety of the week. Visitors started risking heading back to their respective homes yesterday after a full day of no storms. We also got a lot of returning citizens as well as information from our allies.”

“You’re not going to like this Marco,” Thatch chimed in.

“What’s going on?”

“Your dream came true,” Thatch said.

When Marco looked at him blankly Thatch sighed then elaborated, “We’re preparing for War.” Apparently our refusal to turn over our own was the last straw for the Toilets. In the middle of the Week of Storms the Brass called in the Warlords. All of them. There’s been no official declaration yet but we know it’s coming.”

Marco glared at Thatch then looked to Izo for confirmation. Izo looked up from examining his fingernails and nodded. Marco pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. This was distinctly not good. “You know, when I said it would be nice if the WC just got off their rears and stopped the stalemate that I was joking right?”

Thatch chuckled though the sound was not a happy one, “Oh it gets better,” he said. “Jinbie is no longer a Warlord and has been arrested. Upon learning what exactly they had been called in for he refused to fight us claiming that his honor would not allow him to do so after Whitebeard effectively put a stop to the rest of the human trafficking that the Toilet Dwellers wouldn’t touch and providing medical assistance after he had been attacked by the Card Deck.”

“I’m guessing his honor didn’t sit well with some people?”

“Got it in one,” Thatch replied. “They stripped him of his rank and arrested him for crimes against the Collective. It’s a load of bull. Once we got the news Pops declared Mariens a part of our territory and under our protection. Their official government is quite relieved.”

Marco smiled grimly. Declaring Merines as part of the territory didn’t change much. The two areas had been allied since Jinbie had asked them to look into what could be done to stop the trafficking of the merfolk all of those years ago. However he could tell that wasn’t everything.  Thatch was practically vibrating in his chair.

“What else?”

“We suspect Ceaser that one gas logia scientist and Crocodile to be the driving forces behind the storms that kept us cut off from the rest of the world. Just before the Toilet made its ridiculous demands, we received reports that Ceaser was heading towards one of their outlying territories. Taken in conjunction with a late report saying that Crocodile has regained an official but temporary position with the Brass well it seems like too much of a coincidence. It certainly would make the random pattern and lack of warning that we had in regards to the storms make sense.”

Marco frowned thoughtfully and tapped his fingers against the desk. “If that’s the case we can probably expect more storms in the future. They’ll try and use them to whittle down our forces and contaminate food and water supplies. I know that’s not everything though. What are you trying not to tell me?”

“They offered the vacant Warlord position to Blackbeard,” Izo said, “and he accepted. We don’t know the conditions of his alliance with them but we’re definitely part of it. Squared and Whitey Bay were taken down by him and he’s been wandering a haphazard path through our allies territories on his way towards us. It’s making it rather hard to predict when exactly the war is coming but he’s definitely making his way here.”

Marco stared at his siblings. He knew that he probably looked the picture of calm at the moment but inside he was seething with anger. His fist clenched and a sudden crunch coupled with sharp pain had him looking down at his clenched fist. Uncurling his fingers, Marco frowned at the shattered remains of his pen.

“Marco?” Izo questioned, having noticed his sudden shift in attention.

“I’m fine.” He said with a wince as he pulled pieces of plastic out of the palm of his hand. Blood flowed freely for a moment, mixing with ink before blue flames sprang from the wounds, healing them in an instant.

“Uh huh.” Thatch said pointedly eying the small pile of shattered fragments on Marco’s desk. “I call bullshit.”

“Call it all you like Thatch, I’m fine,” Marco cut Thatch off. “It doesn’t matter much. I need you to fill me in on what we’re doing to prepare for this, where Jimbe’s being held, and who’s going to be tasked with springing him.”

“Yeah, what did Pops say about breaking Jimbe out? Do we even know where they stashed him?” Izo asked.

Thatch smiled, a real one this time, “We don’t have to worry about Jimbe. Apparently he had contingency plans for just this situation. He’s on his way back to Mariens right now no worse for wear. Now, as far as preparations go,” Thatch started in.

Izo nodded and leaned forward to put his elbows on Marco’s desk. Marco shifted into a slightly more comfortable position in his chair. This had the potential to go on for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the shortness and uneventfulness of the chapter. I promise it is important. And hey, in good news, Ive handled the craziness that I had to deal with and hopefully will have a more stable updating schedule. Anyways, I hope yall like the chapter. Please let me know what you think of it!


	16. Seeing the Big Picture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which anger is used productively for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds.

“What exactly did you end up telling Marco, boss?” David’s quiet inquiry came somewhat out of the blue.

Ace “Hmmed?” in response to the question. The sound echoed in the empty shop. He hadn’t been paying much attention to David. His mind had been elsewhere while they had cleaned up the debris that a smattering of Dustblows had inflicted upon the shop. Despite the Hubloo that had started the Flashflame season the total damage inflicted upon the S’andwich Bar only amounted to a couple of scorched spots, a broken shutter or two and the sign which had fallen off one of its chains. All relatively easy fixes. Unfortunately the biggest cleanup job was getting rid of the dust and mud that seemed to get into every last crack and cranny even though the building had been shut up tight. Of course this was the most important part since the mud was still toxic and the dust was a rather persistent irritant. It was a messy, dirty job but it had to be done after each storm before they could open for business again. It was a mindless task: one that often left the person who was tackling it with way too much time to think. It had happened to Ace time and time again and this time was only different in the fact that his thoughts had unfortunately wandered nowhere particularly good.

“I asked what you had ended up telling Marco,” David repeated. “Other than the fact that Marie and I are a part of the Card Deck. Because he hasn’t questioned us at all these past couple of weeks. He hasn’t said a word about it and I know he saw Marie. That’s how I know you told him something.” David paused in his cleaning, “You know Marie told me that she spotted him leaving from the back entrance after the Hubloo had cleared up. Was he here that entire time?”

Ace sighed. David wasn’t going to stop asking questions especially since he had him alone. Ace knew that he needed to say something. Well in for a penny, Ace thought, David would figure it all out eventually anyway.

“Yeah. He barely made it inside before the Hubloo started. I didn’t actually tell him much and I didn’t have to tell him about you two. He had already figured that out on his own. He only wanted to know if I had known about your involvement in the Card Deck. He also asked if I knew why you guys were here. I told him that yes I knew about your affiliation and you guys were here because you owed me a favor and then simply didn’t leave when it was paid off. Basically, I just made it clear that the Card Deck didn’t have a beef with Whitebeard and that our presence in the area is entirely due to the fact that we have a bone to pick with Blackbeard.”

“Well, that’s true enough,” David admitted.

Ace nodded, “Exactly. It’s just missing some minor details. Like what the favor was, how I rescued you, and from what.”

“And the fact that you’re actually the leader of the Card Deck.”

“He didn’t ask; I didn’t tell him,” Ace said shooting David an offended look though David’s expression caused his own to morph into an expression of confusion. “What!?!”

“So, if that was all you told him, then what exactly did the two of you get up to while he was here?” David asked with a sly grin.

Ace groaned, “Oh for crying out loud. What the hell? Why does it even matter?”

David shrugged, “It matters because you’re the scariest combination of a completely oblivious dude with a crush mixed with an insanely creative tactical mastermind that any of us know? The whole situation amuses all of us. Also, the general consensus is that while you are normally excellent at the planning and leading thing your plans gain a new level of tactical genius when you’re happy. In all the years that I’ve known you Ace, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you happier than when Marco’s around. Except maybe when your brothers are present or we’ve just blown something up. However that’s beside the point. Even if you haven’t noticed how happy just his presence makes you, we have and because we’re your friends, we just want you to be happy. So did the two of you finally get your act together?”

Ace glared and studied his friend. A frown appeared on his face.

“There’s more to this than just me being happy increasing my plotting skills.” Realization dawned on him. “I know that look. Why do you and Marie keep using me as the source of your bets?”

David shrugged, “Because it’s fun.”

Ace sighed, “You’re all hopeless.”

“Does that mean you’re gonna give up trying to get us to stop?”

“I suppose. It’s not like you all listen to me anyways.”

“One for Robin then,” David noted.

Ace blinked, “You all even bet on that?”

“Yes.”

Ace’s head hit the bar top with a thunk.

Silence fell as fans beat lazily overhead stirring the muggy air but they offered no relief from the ever-present heat. David, after his parting shot, had left to put away the cleaning supplies and Ace enjoyed the silence for a moment. Then he heard it. A faint sound like the rumble of distant thunder only continuous; a low grumble of sound that could only mean one thing.

Ace hopped over the bar to peer out the windows. Yep, it was just as he’d thought. There was another Dustblow on the horizon. From the looks of things it would be hitting the area within the hour. The last week had been full of them. No one had any idea why this time was so bad as it definitely was not normal for this time of year. However, this was the Border and so most of the residents were just thankful that it was simply a Dustblow and not a Mudmist.

“Another storm coming in,” Ace said absentmindedly forgetting that David had headed for the cleaning closet.

“Damn!” David said as he came back into the room and spotted Ace at the window, “we just finished cleaning up after the last one.”

“Um hm. Less than 12 hours between storms this time.”

“Hard to get any news with all this weather going on.” David said in reply.

“Tell me about it.” Ace said.

He hadn’t heard from Luffy in nearly four and a half weeks. Normally this wouldn’t be a reason to worry, but that had been before the Hubloo. Ace didn’t know if Luffy and his people had managed to get to shelter in time or if they had even been in the affected area. What made matter worse was that there would be no way to know until someone called or the group itself returned from whatever adventure Luffy had undoubtedly dragged them on. The only thing that kept Ace from being frantic was that they’d taken off toward the Canyon and that area had a lot of caves where a group could get out of the weather. Unfortunately the rugged terrain also played hell with reception so calling in wasn’t really an option.

What was more concerning was that Ace also hadn’t heard from Sabo. He had left sometime in the middle of the day immediately after Shanks’s visit and before Ace had returned from a raid on one of Blackbeard’s new compounds. Sabo had left a note stating he’d received some troublesome news and it was imperative that he go find out truth from fiction. The note also mentioned that he was going to touch base with Marco about some other things on the way out. According to the note he estimated that he’d be back in a week and a half, two weeks at the latest.

While the note was helpful and provided a possible explanation for why Marco had showed up the compound they had raided it was also rather worrying. Specifically it was the time frame that had Ace so bothered. A week and a half should have allowed his brother to miss the Hubloo in its entirety. Generally Sabo’s information sources weren’t even in areas that experienced the same weather phenomena so he should have been safe from that. Despite the frequency of the storms there had been some time periods where travelers could make the run between the Whitebeard territory and the edge of the desert. All of which meant he should have been back by now; not three weeks late.

It was highly possible, Ace thought to himself, that he was freaking out a little too much about brothers. They were capable, talented, and knew how to take care of themselves. He took a deep breath to calm himself absently smothering the wisps of flames that he had unconsciously sent running up and down his arms.

“You’re worried,” David remarked from behind him.

“Is it that obvious?” Ace asked though he knew the answer was yes.

David raised an eyebrow and declined to comment.

Ace took the lack of response as a sign to continue. “It’s too quiet,” he remarked. “This is the Border. There’s always something going on. Just last week we were practically being overrun with perhaps the strangest conglomeration of people I’ve ever encountered and I’ve encountered plenty of weird shit. After that nothing; not a peep. Now add to that the bizarre sequence of sandstorms, the fact that Sabo’s late from a information gathering ‘milk run’ as he put it, and Marco hasn’t been by in nearly a week and a half? Something’s up.”

“He has been coming by a lot more frequently hadn’t he?” David mused thoughtfully.

Ace shot his friend a wary look. While it was fairly obvious that his friends were hoping that he and Marco would get together the pair hadn’t been exactly obvious about the change in the nature of their relationship. It was still new to the both of them and they wanted to take their time to see where things were going to go without everyone adding in their two cents. Besides, they were still testing the waters so to speak in an attempt to figure out if the relationship could even withstand the differences and all of the secrets between them.

“Yes?” Ace finally said by way of an answer not sure he wanted to know where David was headed with that train of thought.

He never got to find out as at that moment a person wearing a rather heavy traveling coat, hood and full face covering walked in through the door of the S’andwich Bar. Slightly grateful for the distraction Ace studied the covered figure. Whoever it was, they clearly were in this area of the Border a lot. Only people who frequently traveled in this area wore their outer garments so that no skin would be exposed to the irritating sometimes toxic sand and harsh sun.

“Welcome” Ace said after a moment, moving to head back behind the counter in case they wanted something to eat.

He felt a smile slip onto his face. Maybe he would finally get the answers to whatever it was that was going on. People didn’t typically wear concealing coats inside a building after all.

“Ace?” came Sabo’s voice from underneath the layers of fabric.

Ace spun around so quickly that he nearly gave himself whiplash to look. Sabo was in the process of removing the coat’s hood after having undone the face mask. His face was covered with bruises and small cuts and the way he moved indicated that bruising and/or other wounds were concealed underneath the rest of his coat.

Ace growled under his breath.

“Why are you here? Don’t you know what’s going on?” Sabo asked imperiously.

“Ah Ha! So there is something going on!”

“I thought we’d established that something was up already Ace,” David remarked casually.

The shock on Sabo’s face could have been answer enough, “You don’t know do you.” Sabo sat down rather heavily in a chair, still wearing his coat, “One would think that after all these years, especially with it right in front of you, you might have a clue about what’s happening in the wider world.”

“That’s why I have you,” Ace said. “But seriously, you’re starting to freak me out. What don’t I know? Does it have anything to do with why you’re back so freaking late and the injuries that you are trying to hide from me?”

Sabo shrugged, “In part. It’s a long story. Let me start at the beginning and I’ll explain.”

Ace was silent as he waited for his brother to collect his thoughts, but after a moment Sabo shook his head.

“Ah, never mind. There’s too much to explain. To quickly sum it up, the World Collective called in the Warlords. They announced a full scale assault on Agvitatmaa. After a bit of a disagreement in the ranks they dismissed the Knight of the Sea and arrested him for crimes against the Porcelain Gods. I spent the better part of the week staging his breakout, getting him out of the area and on his way home. While I was occupied with that they made Blackbeard a Warlord in exchange for his future assistance in apprehending the Straw Hat Gang. Blackbeard agreed on the condition the Collective would help him take over Whitebeard’s territory first. He allegedly proposed it so that he could have a base of operations close to the area where the Straw Hats are rumored to be active. The rest of the Warlords agreed. Whitebeard has been under siege for just over a week. Blackbeard arrived yesterday with the rest of the besieging force and things are getting restless on both sides. Something is going to give soon and there’s going to be a bloodbath.”

Ace blinked, “What the fuck?”

Blackbeard was after Luffy? Putting his already existing issues with Blackbeard aside that couldn’t be allowed to stand. Blackbeard needed to realize that the Straw Hats were off limits. Attacking Whitebeard on thier own turf was a bold if rather idiotic move. How the hell had Blackbeard survived this long if he made decisions like that? Did he really think he could conquer Agvitamaa and hold it? Marco and the rest of the commanders had not only the high ground but also the advantage in training and supplies.

Thinking of Marco, even tangentially, sparked a memory of a conversation that they’d had a little over a week ago.

_“Ace,” Marco had said rather seriously, “I need to talk to you.”_

_His voice had been rather low, as if he was trying to avoid even the miniscule amount of attention that the conversing pair occasionally drew while sitting together for lunch. Despite Marco’s almost daily presence after the Hubloo and his appearances before, the S’andwich Bar regulars were still getting used to the idea of Ace having someone around with whom he teased and flirted. Ace supposed it was the novelty since many had tried to engage his interest in the past and gotten nowhere._

_“This about the Card Deck again?” he had asked._

_“No,” Marco shook his head and a mildly worried expression on his face though Ace doubted that anyone who didn’t know Marco very well would be able to tell, “there’s been some issues back at home and it looks like it’s all coming to a boil.”_

_Ace remembered having grinned at that, “whatever it is I think you can handle it. I mean, you outran a freaking Hubaloo Marco. Unless of course you’re telling me I should be worried?”_

_Marco’s quiet chuckle was music to his ears and even better had the effect of chasing away the worry from Marco’s face, “Nah. No reason to. I just wanted to let you know that because of that I’m not going to be around for a little bit.”_

_“Ah,” Ace had said, leaning back in his chair, “I appreciate that. How long is a little?”_

_Marco had shrugged slightly, “Should be three, maybe four days at the max.”_

_“Well then,” Ace had said, half serious half teasing, “You should drop by for a spell when your stuff is done. Stay a night or two.”_

_Marco had grinned, “I may take you up on that. See you in a few days Ace.”_

_“Bye Marco.”_

Ace’s eyes narrowed, “Shit…he knew!” Ace hissed. “The asshole knew this attack was coming and all he bothers to say is that he’s not going to be around for a couple of days!”

“Who knew what?” Sabo questioned

“Marco!”

Sabo raised an eyebrow at that, “Marco told you that he wasn’t going to be around for a while because Agvitatmaa was going to be under attack?”

“Eh, sort of,” Ace said not really focusing on the question. Angry little flames rolled across his back, radiating heat and Ace made no motion to control them. He was too pissed off.

“Uh, right,” Sabo replied realizing that Ace wasn’t really in any condition to give him substantive information right now.

David just shook his head at the pair of brothers before interjecting, “What do we do Boss? It’s your call. Luffy is your brother and Blackbeard has been your target a lot longer than the majority of us knew to blame him for our misfortunes. I know you’ve got some piece of a plan in that brain of yours.”

Ace glared at the table for a moment longer allowing his flames to burn off the more destructive edges to his anger. When he could actually think past his rage he took in a deep breath and straightened up to look his co-conspirators in the eye.

“Alright” he said spreading his hands out and leaning on the table in front of him. “This is what we are going to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. So this is late, but still within my two weeks so Im going to count it as being on time. Hopefully that will be the schedule for the rest of the year but who knows. Life is complicated. Anyways I hope you all liked the chapter. Please let me know what you think of it. I am super excited for the next chapter because it contains the second scene that I actually thought out for this story and I find it immensely hilarious. I just have to finish editing it. Anyways thats not really relevant to this chapter, so please let me know what you think of it.


	17. Storming the Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exposition Theater part 3: Secret meetings that are not quite so secret and a lesson in the practical application of information retrieval tactics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds.
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Cursing. A lot of it. Ace gets rather foulmouthed at points.

 

They had been under siege for several days now and Marco was about ready to bang his siblings’ heads together. Whitebeard was a rather large territory but apparently when the option of leaving had been removed even the largest places could become miniscule. More importantly during a siege there was no way to escape the chaos that his siblings brought simply by being themselves. Tensions were high and cabin fever was starting to set in for everyone, citizens and commanders alike. The expansive Whitebeard Territory seemed to be growing smaller by the day.

 

“How are the citizens holding up under this pressure?” Whitebeard asked and Marco returned his focus to the meeting.

 

The commanders had increased the frequency of their meetings in a thus far unsuccessful attempt at figuring out how to break the siege. So far none of the ideas offered had been in any way feasible.

 

“They’re doing OK, Pops,” Haruta said. “They understand what’s going on and most of them are content to be patient. The majority of the remainder are grumbling but not taking any action. Unfortunately there are few people are starting to get restless. No one has done anything really crazy yet but it’s only a matter of time. We’re not the only ones suffering from Cabin Fever. ”

 

“How are we on food and water stores?”

 

“At the current level of rationing, we should be good for another click and a half before things start to get dicey,” Thatch commented from where he was sitting.

 

“And ammunition?”

 

“Our stores are fine at the moment but at the current rate of fire we will be running low before too long.”

 

“We’re gonna run out of ammo keeping them from the gates long before we run out of food,” Izo added.

 

Whitebeard frowned, “That is probably something Blackbeard is waiting for. Have only the expert marksmen watching the gates and tell them to choose their targets carefully. We do not want to waste any shots.”

 

Izo grinned and the smile was entirely teeth, “Already done Father.”

 

“Anything else to report?”

 

“We’ve had a couple of groups try to tunnel in. One group hit rock a few feet down and Namur, Curiel and I took care of the other one. They haven’t tried that since,” Jozu smiled nastily.

 

“Good,” Whitebeard rumbled. “Are there any other things we ought to be worried about?”

 

“Bioterror,” Jiru said from his end of the table. “Thatch had a point when he brought up the possibility weeks ago. Frankly I’m surprised that they haven’t tried anything like that yet.”

 

“That is strange. We know Ceaser is definitely around and Bioweapons are his specialty,” Vista mused.

 

“I think it’s the delivery method that has him stuck.” Fossa chimed in. “Right now they’re limited to cannons and that is not something he was terribly fond of. The only type of ammunition that would have the intended effect belongs to Buggy and that man is notoriously stingy with his designs. ” Fossa concluded.

 

“True,” Marco said. “That doesn’t even take into account the fact that any large explosive dispersal of gas or some such might just flow off the mesa and right down into their own forces. Most of the nastiest stuff is heavier than normal air after all.”

 

“Does anyone have any new ideas for how we can break this stalemate?” Whitebeard rumbled.

 

“The best thing you could do would be to try and catch them between your forces and an outside force,” a voice commented.

 

Marco rolled his eyes. He had no idea why whoever it was that just said that had even bothered to mention it. They already knew that it was the best plan. In fact it had been the first thing that they had tried to set up. That was when they had discovered all of the normal modes of communication were either blocked or intercepted. In fact, all they had been doing for days now was attempt different ways of getting around the communication blackout. Marco opened his mouth to ask Kingdew and Atmos for a report on any progress but Blenheim beat him to it.

 

“Kingdew, Atmos, have you had any luck in getting past their transfract blockers?”

 

“No,” came Kingdew’s tired response. “Not that we haven’t tried.”

 

“They’re blocking every signal within range,” Atmos added.

 

“And we can’t use the birds either,” Blamenco said. “They’re too slow for what we need.”

 

“And Blackbeard would recognize them for exactly what they were,” Rakuyo groused. “Not to mention the Sand Croc’s freaking sandstorms.”

Marco sighed, “So in short there’s no change from yesterday. Despite that attempting to get a message out and hoping for reinforcements from our allies is still our best bet. Anyone else have any other ideas?”

 

There was a low rumble towards the negative from his siblings. The sounds of someone chewing something crunchy that had been in the background on and off for the entire meeting suddenly stopped.

 

The voice that had asked the obvious question piped up, “Well, you could always ask for help.”

 

That caused everyone except Marco to look towards the source of the obnoxiously obvious comment. Marco on the other hand was thinking hard. He knew that voice. It was very familiar but definitely out of place. Marco looked up and was sure he was hallucinating. There leaning against the door and munching on an apple was a man in a long burgundy coat. A strap over one shoulder implied that he had a bag of sorts on his back. Marco stared at the intruder trying to get a good look at the other man’s face. It was impossible. He had positioned himself in such a way that the lighting of the room, combined with the tan cowboy hat hid everything save the lower half of his face. That of course wasn’t helpful in the slightest as the man currently wasn’t sporting any sort of expression whatsoever. Where the hell had this guy come from? There was no way that he and all of his siblings could have missed him if he’d been standing right next to the door the entire time.

 

The reaction to the stranger who had clearly been eavesdropping on a private and confidential meeting was immediate. Marco had scarcely blinked before nearly everyone’s personal weapon was out and pointed in man’s direction. Haruta, who had been the closest, was the first to clear their chair and reach the stranger, their knife was held steady aimed squarely at the stranger’s throat.

 

With a growl they spoke for everyone in the room, “How the hell’d you get in here? Who sent you? Who are you?”

 

It didn’t seem to perturb the stranger at all who offered a mild, “What the hell man, that’s not terribly friendly.”

 

“Do I look to be in a welcoming mood?” Haruta threatened moving the knife a little bit closer so that it was just shy of actually touching flesh. “Who are you?”

 

To the shock of the entire room the man tutted softly before replying, “Nope. Not telling. It’s only polite you introduce yourself first if you want to know someone’s name.”

 

The room collectively reacted in surprise to that statement. Marco nearly swore as everything came together. But it just couldn’t be. The voice, the attitude and the ability to sneak into a private meeting narrowed down Marco’s suspect pool significantly. However, there was only one person who would be so casually nonchalant with knives in his face, not know which of the commanders was personally threatening him and have the balls to lecture the room about manners despite not having any himself. No. Marco refused to believe it. That person was safe in his Bar in the Border. Well, relatively safe; as safe as one could be when you chose to live in the Border anyways.

 

“Fine,” Haruta said apparently deciding to go with it, “I’m Haruta. Now for the last fucking time, who the hell are you?”

 

A rather familiar cocky smirk lit up what Marco could see of the stranger’s face. That was it. Marco knew exactly who the infiltrator was. It was a wonder that he hadn’t seen it earlier. The Border Traveling coat, the hat, which he could now clearly tell was a vibrant orange must have thrown him off. No the attitude, the casual carelessness in regards to his personal safety and that goddamned smirk that had greeted him for clicks when he walked into the S’andwich Bar was what confirmed their eavesdropper’s identity. So much for hoping his lover would stay safely out of the fray, Marco thought to himself.

 

Entirely unaware of Marco’s epiphany his siblings continued to hold the stranger at weapons point. A couple of them had moved to get a better line with their weapons but seemed to be waiting for a sign from either Haurta or Pops.

 

Ace to his credit simply continued along with his cocky attitude seemly ignoring the arsenal pointed in his direction and the knife poised at his throat, “Haruta you said? Nice’t’meetcha. My name’s …”

 

“Ace,” Marco said loudly enough for the entire room to hear.

 

A silence so thick one could cut it with a knife descended on the room. About half the room turned to stare at Marco while the rest kept Ace covered.

 

As Marco watched the cocky smirk widened into a joyful smile. A hand raised itself slowly, avoiding sudden movements in just case Haruta got jumpy with the knife. Ace carefully pushed back the orange hat to reveal a face full of freckles and wavy black hair.

 

Marco hadn’t realized that he had missed that grin as much as he had.

 

“Heya Marco!” Came the cheerful greeting.

 

Marco frowned. He didn’t know whether he should feel relieved at Ace’s obvious safety or annoyed that he’d crashed the meeting.

 

“What the hell are you doing here?”

 

Ace rolled his eyes, “Rude. It’s nice to see you too.”

 

Marco couldn’t help the smile that creeped across his face, “Hey yourself Ace.”

 

Despite his worry, surprise and confusion at how Ace came to be standing in the doorway it really was good to see his lover. A strange choking caused Marco to glance curiously in the direction of the sound. Thatch was trying hard not to laugh. His brother had bitten his own forearm in an attempt to stifle the noise. It wasn’t working terribly well. Izo, who was sitting directly to Thatch’s right, was also having trouble to containing his mirth but thankfully was doing a much better job at it. He’d have to ask just what the two of them found so amusing later. There were more important things to deal with at the moment like getting those weapons pointed away from Ace for one. The rest of the room still seemed to be in shock, save Haruta who was still holding Ace at knifepoint.

 

“Pops?” Haruta asked.

 

Whitebeard glanced around the room evaluating the entire situation. Nothing escaped his notice, not even Izo and Thatch’s attempts to calm their mirth. His gaze landed on Ace for a solid moment who returned it with a slight narrowing of his eyes. After a long moment he turned to Marco.

 

“Well?” he rumbled questioningly to the shock of the others.

 

No one had seen Whitebeard demand an explanation from Marco in years. Marco for his part simply shrugged and met the man he called his father’s gaze evenly. There was no hiding anything so Marco didn’t even bother to try. It would be pretty evident due to their long association what exactly Ace meant to him. Instead he tried to read his father’s expression so that he had some sort of inclination of how Whitebeard would rule. He had expected the wariness that he found but the approval he saw in his father’s face was slightly puzzling.

 

As Marco attempted to suss out the proper answer the silence stretched on. It seemed to last for an eternity. Whatever Pops would do he’d do and if it was against Ace well then Marco would need to make his own choice. Finally Marco gave up and just shrugged in a slightly embarrassed manner.

 

Whitebeard laughed, “Stand down,” he ordered the group. “Marco’s vouched for him.”

 

Haruta huffed but sheathed their knife and the rest of the room followed suit stowing weapons and relaxing a bit.

 

“You’ve got guts brat.” Whitebeard commented, directly addressing Ace for the first time while gesturing him to one of the extra chairs in the room.

 

Ace bristled, “That I may but I’d like to set something straight at the outset; don’t call me brat. There’s only one person in this world that gets to do that and you’re not him.” Ace plopped into the offered chair and continued, “Anyways, like I said earlier in regards to your problem outside you could always ask for help.”

 

“We would if we could Ace. I have no doubt you heard that part of the conversation,” Izo stated. “We are sort of cut off from our normal allies so just who exactly are you suggesting that we ask for help?”

 

Ace grinned a cocky smile, “Me.”

 

“Why you?” demanded Rakuyo.

 

Ace raised an eyebrow, “’Cause I’m here and I can give it.”

 

“Speaking of that just how did you get here? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but we are under siege,” Izo questioned, his eyes sharp and piercing.

 

Ace’s grin grew wider. “I did. And your security sucks by the way. I dropped in through the roof.”

 

Izo raised an eyebrow. “Oh is that all?”

 

Ace’s grin gained a sheepish overtone, “Um. No. Not really. I may have blown up some of the besieging army’s supplies so that I could slip past their line and into the sandstorm to get up here.”

 

His admission had Fossa chuckling. The explosives expert always approved of people blowing things up for any reason.

 

“An Explosion? I like your style.”

 

“Thanks,” Ace said but before he could continue the conversation was waylaid by Jozu.

 

“You willingly went through the sandstorm,” Jozu commented disbelievingly.

 

Ace nodded and grinned at him.

 

Marco understood his brother’s disbelief. They hadn’t been able to breach the sandstorms at all despite trying a variety of different methods. Despite the best precautions the sand managed to get everywhere and had caused some nasty rashes as well as respiratory distress. Everyone that they had sent out ended up turning back before they hit the bottom of the mesa. None of them had either the equipment or the knowledge to deal with the harsh conditions of a Dustblow.

 

“Sure,” Ace said, “it’s not all that hard if you are equipped right and know what you are doing. I’m used to traveling in the Border and Wastes and my coat helps. That’s literally what it’s there for.” Ace looked around the room again. “But my impressive sandstorm traversing prowess is not the point of crashing this meaning.”

 

“Then what is the point?” Haruta asked, “We could have killed you before you ever got a word in edgewise.”

 

Ace’s face turned serious, “I told you already; I’m here to offer help. You’ve got the entirety of Blackbeard’s crew out there. That doesn’t even mention the lowest of the low from the Brass’s forces.” Ace looked around, “You know who they are; those guys that the brass cannot and will not get rid of because they’re such effective soldiers even though they are a pain in the ass. The ones who abuse their positions and who if and when they die make the world a better place.”

 

“Yeah, we know those guys,” Rumbled Blamenco.

 

“Well what you don’t know is that Blackbeard himself is now out there. He arrived yesterday with fresh reinforcements. I and some of the other people that I’m representing all have a bone to pick with that man so I’m here to offer our assistance in getting rid of that piece of scum.”

 

“Not that we don’t appreciate the offer but why do you care?” Thatch asked. “I mean you don’t even live here. You own a sandwich shop in Outskirts for pete’s sake.”

 

Marco rolled his eyes at Thatch’s tactless words. While he was curious himself as to what Ace’s beef was with Blackbeard it really didn’t matter. Given the current situation they really couldn’t afford to look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

“I’ve got reasons aplenty,” Ace said. “I’m Marco’s friend and I do not leave my friends out to hang if there is something that I can do about it. That alone would be a good enough reason for me to get involved. Business is another one. Do you even know how much of a ghost town Outskirts is right now?”

 

“I thought Outskirts was already ghost town.” Vista murmured.

 

Ace let out a rather undignified snort. “Yeah, it’d probably appear that way to the majority of you,” Ace said smugly.

 

The pride in his voice confused Marco. While it was true that Outskirts, like most border towns, always appeared to be more buildings than inhabitants there had always been people around. It wasn’t a large town by any means but it definitely wasn’t deserted. Marco himself had never seen it empty. What the hell was Ace getting at?

 

Apparently Vista was also confused by Ace’s answer, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

Ace rolled his eyes, “Please. It’s no secret that a good majority of the businesses in Outskirts just skirt or outright break a variety of laws. Do you really think that we don’t notice when strangers wander through? You see what we want you to see.”

 

Except him apparently Marco realized and smirked at Ace.

 

Ace caught the look and snorted in amusement, though his cheeks pinked slightly in embarrassment. “all right fine. Stop looking so smug Marco. We normally notice strangers traipsing around the place.”

 

Most of the people in the room were by this time looking back and forth between Ace and Marco in outright confusion.

 

“No, no, don’t mind me,” Marco deadpanned as most of the room looked at him. “I’m just amused by the fact that the primary information broker for Outskirts took a whole two clicks to recognize me.”

 

Ace groaned in embarrassment and put his hand over his face.

 

Marco lost the battle to keeling his laughter in. His snickers echoed through the room and Ace’s flush grew.

 

“Shut up Marco,” he grumbled.

 

“Primary information broker for Outskirts?” Izo questioned.

 

“Yeah,” Ace said slowly from behind his hand, “that would be me. Rather easy job when you run a bar and all.” He sighed and added, “That’s why missing Marco is really freaking embarrassing.”

 

“Are you Royal Blue?” Izo demanded to know.

 

Ace dropped his hand to his lap and burst out laughing.

 

Marco stopped chuckling and sighed. He really should have known that his brother would put two and two together and attempt to make five.

 

“No Izo, Ace is not Royal Blue,” Marco stated flatly to head off that supposition before it gained any traction.

 

“Ah man,” Ace wheezed when he managed to get himself under control. “He’s going to get a kick out of that. No, no I’m not Royal Blue. I’ve met the man though and I appreciate the compliment.”

 

Marco snickered at that statement. Ace had _met_ Royal Blue indeed.

 

“Can we get back to business?” Atmos asked.

 

The rest of the room appeared to agree with him though a majority of them were smiling. This was the most interesting non-potentially dangerous thing to happen in over a week after all.

 

“And speaking of business,” Atmos added, “I don’t buy that line about how much you care that it is hurting your business. Being Marco’s friend gives you the right to be concerned but you’re holding something back. I don’t like accepting help from people who I don’t know if I can trust.”

 

Ace glared. “I already said I had a bone to pick with Blackbeard. That not enough? Enemy of my enemy and all that?”

 

Atmos glared right back, “And I heard you. What I want to know is what exactly makes your bone to pick with Blackbeard allied with ours?”

 

Ace’s face lost all trace of expression and Marco read his lips as Ace muttered. “So this is how it’s going to be.”

 

Ace closed his eyes briefly then took a deep breath before speaking up. “Oh I dunno, mainly because I’ve been trying to figure out who exactly the bastard was for a lot longer than you knew he even existed.”

 

“Why?” Curiel asked.

 

“The fucker did kill my mother when I was six and has been trying to kill me on and off for the past 16 years or so. I was originally attempting to find him to get revenge but now it’s a little different.”

 

Whitebeard frowned at that statement. While it had been made abundantly clear a while ago that Blackbeard was not the man they had known years ago, there was no doubt that he was one of their own 20 some odd years ago when this was supposed to have occurred.

 

“Who, what, when? More importantly why has he been trying to kill you?” Whitebeard rumbled.

 

“Rouge,” Ace said succinctly then added, “The Border of Baterilla.”

 

“Rouge Portgas?” Whitebeard asked

 

Ace nodded though an unreadable expression came over his face as he did. The Room had fallen silent at this exchange having apparently caught onto the tense mood. Teach hadn’t been one of them for a while but it was still hard to hear about his misdeeds with the betrayal so fresh.

 

Marco recognized the name as that of belonging to Ace’s mother. Ace had mentioned her in passing. What Ace hadn’t said but Marco knew was that she was the lover of one Roger D. Gol. Marco knew his father would make the connection but Marco was having problems with the more important part of what Ace had said. Why exactly would Blackbeard want to kill Ace?

 

“Yes, Rouge D. Portgas. As to why I’ve never been quite sure. He may have realized I was the kid who escaped when my mom died but I don’t know if he thinks I shouldn’t exist or he thinks I have information that he wants,” Ace confirmed with a resigned expression on his face.

 

“You have my apologies. Had we noticed sooner…” Whitebeard rumbled to the shock of everyone present, Ace included.

 

Marco watched as Ace floundered for something to say. It was clear that he was unaccustomed to anyone expressing that sentiment.  

 

“Nothing to be sorry for,” He finally muttered. “Her death had nothing to do with you and I mostly stopped caring about people trying to kill me for things I couldn’t control years ago. Besides it’s not like he’s the only one. He’s just certainly been the most persistent.”

 

Marco mentally did some math. “He’s been trying to kill you since you were a kid?” He blurted out.

 

“Yes,” Ace said as if that was a normal fact of life for him.

 

Given what he had just shared it probably was Marco thought. He placed his head in his hands so that his siblings couldn’t see his reaction.

 

“Chill Marco. He was really bad at it,” Ace said in what he thought was a reassuring tone but actually came out sort of smug. “On the other hand he just could have been really bad at assessing the competency of the people he hired. I haven’t actually run into the asshole himself since the time I was,” Ace paused to think, “18? He didn’t even know who I was at first.”

 

“That’s not exactly comforting Ace.” Marco replied.

Before Ace could say anything in response Blenheim interrupted with a question. “You said you stopped caring, but you are still pursing Blackbeard anyway?”

 

Ace shrugged, “The not caring is more recent. When I started out, well I was a mess back then, but that doesn’t really change what I’m going to do now. The bastard has started going after what little family I have left though I doubt the fucker knows that they are my family at all. They’re just an annoyance to him. I’m not losing anyone to him again if I can do something about it. This time I have the ability to do something. The only question remaining is whether you’re going to accept my help or if I am going to have to go at it alone.”

 

Again the group turned towards Whitebeard. Regardless of their individual opinions on the he would have the final say. For his part, their father looked pensive.

 

“This is not a decision to be made lightly,” Whitebeard rumbled. “It is not something I am willing to commit to without discussion. There is, however, one thing that I need to know.”

 

“And what’s that?” Ace asked the challenge clear in his voice.

 

“Does your desire for revenge require you to be the one to land the final blow? If, and I stress this if, we decide to accept your help will you abandon whatever plan is created if you come across Blackbeard on the battlefield?”

 

Ace froze. Marco could tell that his father had shocked Ace for the second time since he’d walked in the door. He watched silently as a war of emotions played out across Ace’s face.

 

Finally Ace spoke, “Had you asked me that a few months ago the answer would have been yes.”

 

“And now?” Whitebeard asked.

 

Marco knew that whatever Ace answered this would be the major factor in determining if they were going to accept Ace’s help or not.

 

“I don’t know,” He said with some surprise as if he himself hadn’t expected that answer.

 

Probably not, Marco thought. From what he knew of Ace the man was not particularly introspective unless he was forced to be so.

 

Ace, unaware of Marco’s thoughts continued on, “I just want the bastard dead and incapable of harming my family ever again. At this point I don’t think I care how it gets that way as long as it happens.”

 

“Hmm,” Whitebeard said. “That’s an interesting thing to admit. Not something you would normally tell someone whom you’re trying to convince to let you help them.”

 

Ace scoffed, “You’re Marco’s father. As if you’d accept anything other than the unvarnished truth.”

 

Whitebeard laughed, “Indeed. I thank you for your candid responses. Now if you do not mind, we need to talk about this.”

 

Ace nodded as if he’d expected such a response, “I’m going to suppose you don’t want me around while you do.”

 

The chuckle that filled the room was apparently answer enough and Ace pushed back his chair.

 

“That’s fine. I was actually expecting it. Do you have somewhere in particular that you want me to wait?”

 

Whitebeard nodded, “Marco will figure something out.”

 

Ace grinned and grabbed his bag as Marco got up and made his way towards his friend.

 

“C’mon Ace. You can chill in my office if you want. I don’t know how long this will take and I’ve got a couple of things to read stashed away in there if you’re so inclined.”

 

“Cool,” Ace said but the way he said it sounded strange, as if some of the letters had slurred together.

 

“Ace?” he questioned stepping closer.

 

“Srry” Ace managed to slur out before suddenly pitching forward.

 

Reacting, Marco caught Ace before he hit the floor. The room erupted in pandemonium. Marco ignored the cacophony of questions. It wasn’t as if the questions weren’t important, no it was solely because of the fact that as Ace went down Marco got a good look at the back of Ace’s coat. What had been mostly covered by the green striped bag Ace had been carrying over his shoulder was a stylized spade. Despite being somewhat stunned by the realization Marco mentally cursed at the inconvenient timing. Shifting his hold on Ace’s limp form he lowered him to the floor. Using the cover of checking Ace’s breathing he shifted the coat so the mark was mostly hidden. Marco gave Ace a quick once over and satisfied himself that his friend had simply succumbed to one of his sleep attacks. He then removed Ace’s arms from his coat sleeves. His next step was to put two fingers in his mouth and blew, produced a piercing whistle that cut sharply through the hubbub.

 

“He’s fine,” Marco said, “he’s got narcolepsy. This happens.”

 

“Situation normal then?” Whitebeard asked.

 

“For Ace, yeah,” Marco said as he carefully worked to pick Ace up grabbing the coat at the same time turning it inside out. “I’m going to…”

 

“It’s fine Marco. We won’t make a final decision before you get back,” Whitebeard said .

 

Marco nodded slipping out the door ignoring the various degrees of confused expressions on his sibling’s faces. He would deal with that or ignore it when he got back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Hello Fans, friends and first time readers. I think I owe you all an apology, yaknow seeing as the last update was in October. Im super sorry about that. Seriously. Life did get complicated and I ended up needing to put the editing process on hold to deal with it, though Im not entirely sure how much that helped. Im hoping it did, but with how that issue has been earlier in the year I really am not going to be able to say. Anyways yeah. Im super sorry about that. Regardless of the results, its over and done with for the moment so I can get back to writing. Oh speaking of writing I have like, 3 interesting pieces of news for yall. 
> 
> 1: This chapter was the second one to come to me, almost immediately after the one in the bar. Everything that I wrote was to explain those two scenes before it took over my life. 
> 
> 2: My beta reader who is magnificent says that the story is going to be approximaitely 21 chapters long and I have up to chapter 19 in the editing process. This story will be complete before the year is done.
> 
> 3: I have entered the current big bang so feel free to keep an eye out for that. It should be up sometime next april if I'm remembering the deadlines correctly. And thats all I'm allowed to say about that. 
> 
> Again my apologies for leaving you in the dark as to what happens for so long. I'm no longer making promises about when the next chapter will be up, but it should be soon. Anyways I hope you liked Ace's plan and that you can be patient with me. The story is about to get very crazy and very serious very quickly. Let me know what yall think! It would be super interesting to hear what you think because you've had so long to imagine what Ace was gonna do and I bet I turned it all on its head. I also imagine that many people find Ace a bit out of character in this, and I'd love to talk about it. So yeah, if youve got questions, please ask em and I'll talk to you all later!


	18. Play the Cards You've Been Dealt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds.

Ace came to rather slowly, taking as much time as he could to gather his wits before doing anything. Years of pretending to remain asleep after waking up from a narcoleptic attack helped him keep his breathing even as he gathered his wits. He knew that he would have been moved after collapsing in the Commander’s conference room. The question was where had they moved him? Was he in part of their medical wing due to his untimely collapse or was he in a holding cell? Marco had vouched for him but that did not change the fact that he had still successfully crashed a top-secret meeting in the middle of a siege. Frankly, if he were in the Whitebeard’s position he knew what he would do.

 

Yet despite that, Ace didn’t think he was in a medical wing or a holding cell. For one, he was comfortable, warm and whatever he was laying on was ridiculously soft. It also had the added benefit of smelling rather familiar. That definitely ruled out his earlier assumptions. Perhaps he was in some sort of diplomatic quarters then? Ace hesitantly cracked open his eyes, curious and still slightly wary. It was just enough to see but hopefully not enough to let anyone watching know he was awake. He found himself looking at a softly illuminated ceiling. That was not helpful at all. The ceiling told him absolutely nothing.

 

He closed his eyes again and spent a minute trying to figure out if it mattered or not where he was then proceeded to debate with himself whether or not he should get up. He was ridiculously comfortable. Just as he had come to the conclusion that no it didn’t matter and he wasn’t really interested in getting up, the soft sound of a page turning drew his attention. He wasn’t alone. That changed things.

 

Curious, Ace opened his eyes again and rolled over onto his side so that he could see the rest of the room. To his delight, Marco was sitting in an overstuffed armchair with a book on his lap. Apparently his rolling over had attracted Marco’s attention as warm blue eyes and a soft smile were directed his way.

 

“Hey,” Ace whispered entirely unwilling to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in the room.

 

“Hey yourself,” Marco whispered back.

 

The silence returned. Finally Ace murmured, “Where a…”

 

Ace didn’t even manage to get the entire question out before Marco answered, “My room.”

 

“ ‘S nice,” Ace said wondering how he’d not recognized that. The room was comfortable, practical and welcoming. It practically screamed Marco.

 

“Thanks.” Marco said.

 

Ace hummed sleepily as he snuggled into the decadent bed and soaked in as much of this comfortable peace as he could. There probably wouldn’t be another chance to do anything like this in the foreseeable future.

 

“How long?”

 

“Have you been out? A few hours.”

 

“Hmmmm”

 

“I haven’t seen you randomly collapse like that in a while,” Marco continued. “In fact that’s the longest I’ve seen you stay asleep after keeling over like that.”

 

“Your fault.”

 

“My fault?” Marco inquired

 

“Yes. All your fault,” Ace said. His voice sounded somewhat petulant to his surprise. “Lots of stress and other strong emotions increase the frequencies of attacks. Finding out that your boyfriend is stuck in the middle of a siege is not conductive to remaining calm, cool and collected in the slightest.”

 

Marco blinked, “Ah,” he said simply. “In my defense, none of us were expecting a full blown siege. I’ll try not to do it again?” he offered.

 

“But you can’t promise something like that.” That was something they had booth been very aware of when they had started, though neither of them had been prepared to deal with it so soon.

 

“I know, I know,” Ace responded to the look on Marco’s face, “I can’t promise anything like that either so there is no way I should expect you to.”

 

“I know.” Marco said simply.

 

The comfortable silence returned to the room. All was still good between them. Ace burrowed further into the blankets. Despite what he had told Marco, his narcolepsy and corresponding insomnia had been acting up ever since the Hubloo and if he didn’t need to get up, then he wasn’t going to.

 

“Ace?” Marco asked after a moment and Ace noticed that his attention had not returned to his book.

 

“Mm?”

 

“Is Blackbeard after Sabo because I asked your brother to investigate?”

 

There was a strangely remorseful and slightly guilty tone in Marco’s voice. Ace glanced at his lover and saw that his face also was tinged with uncertainty.

 

“Ah nope,” Ace said hurriedly to reassure him. “No blaming yourself for nonexistent problems Marco. The dick’s not after Sabo. Besides, Sabo was already looking into Blackbeard before you asked.”

 

Marco blinked, “He’s was what then?”

 

“He was already investigating Blackbeard.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Cause I asked. Years ago, when we first realized that most of the people trying to kill me had been hired by the same source. ”

 

“Right,” Marco said sounding slightly confused. “Wait does that mean Blackbeard’s after Luffy?”

 

“Unfortunately.”

 

“Why? What the hell did Luffy do?”

 

Marco’s confusion was obvious but Ace couldn’t really help himself. Not when the question was posed as it had been. He let out an undignified snort, one that somehow managed to combine worry, slight amusement and a strange sense of pride.

 

“I think it’s more of a question of what hasn’t Luffy done at this point.”

 

Marco warily raised an eyebrow, “What does that mean?”

 

“Well, the bastard could be after Luffy for a variety of reasons. There’s the Attack on the Mountain of the Midnight Sun for one, but my overachiever little brother is also responsible for stopping the Civil War of the Abyss, overthrowing Arlong and crushing Crocodile’s coup. And that’s only the stuff that Sabo and I were able to confirm. Besides, I haven’t heard from him in nearly a month. Who knows what Lu’s done since then.”

 

Marco stared. “Ace, are you trying to tell me…”

 

He didn’t get a chance to finish as Ace laughed. “It is exactly what you think it is. Luffy is the leader of the Straw Hat Vandals.”

 

Marco was silent for a moment, “That explains so much. None of you do things by halves.”

 

“If we did, life would be boring,” Ace confessed with a grin as the silence returned. Ace tried to return to the drowsy and content state that he had been in moments before but it was futile. No matter how he turned, his mind was too preoccupied to return to its restful state. So much for sleeping. Ah well. He might as well go for broke then. Ace sat up in the bed and arranged the pillows so he could lounge against the headboard. He could still be comfortable while interrogating Marco.

 

“So what’s the plan? Assuming you all agreed on one that is.”

 

“Pops accepted your offer of help.” Marco started in.

 

“That’s good. Anything else?”

 

“Nothing at the moment, really. Most of the plan is going to depend on how long it will take you to sneak out, get back to your people and set things up on that end. By the way I would really like to know who exactly they are and what their capacity is. It will make things either easier or much more difficult to plan.”

 

Marco looked contemplative as if he was unsure about something. Ace hummed a questioning noise hoping to get him to continue.

 

“Without outside help this siege has the potential to go on for a long time. We can’t really afford such a thing. The territory isn’t set up to handle it. Hell, we only have a police force because so many people started settling in the area and we learned early on that letting the citizens police themselves wasn’t a good idea.”

 

“Marco, I’m not going anywhere,” Ace shifted in the bed, the blanket he’d been under pooling around him.

 

“What? Of course you are. You’ve got to talk to your people right?”

 

Ace chuckled, “Marco I can do that from anywhere provided I’ve got a transfract.”

 

Marco shook his head, “They’re jamming the signals. Nothing is getting in or out other than interference.”

 

Ace shrugged and his shoulders popped as he did so, “It’s not a problem. I’ve got a way to get around it.”

 

Marco cocked his head, “You’ve what now?”

 

Ace shrugged again, “It’s called a SNAIL. Don’t ask me how it works cause I don’t know but don’t worry about it so much Marco. I’ve got a secure method of contact that doesn’t involve me leaving to use it. Which means all you’ve got to do is give me more of a plan than ‘we have to wait to talk to your people’ and I can let them know what’s up.”

 

Marco just looked at him and Ace stared back, trying to read anything that he could from the other man’s expression.

 

“This has to do with some of those secrets you hold and who you’re here representing,” Marco finally said.

 

Ace said nothing. He wasn’t going to lie but he didn’t really want to deal with this shit right now. He stared at Marco trying to decide what he’d say if the man asked point blank. The truth he supposed. Well, he mused, there was never going to be a perfect time so it was much better than dealing with it later.

 

“I won’t push,” Marco said.

 

“But you want to. I’m not wearing my coat. There’s no way you didn’t see the insignia when you stripped it off me,” Ace pointed out leaning backwards and falling over onto the bed so that he was once again staring at the ceiling.

 

“I did,” Marco confirmed. “I know you’re a part of the Card Deck. Just one question? Please?”

 

“Shoot,” Ace said, refusing to look over at Marco.

 

How had he not noticed that the ceiling was this interesting when he first woke up? He knew that he was trying to avoid the situation but frankly this had the potential to destroy everything. It all depended on the question. He had the feeling that Marco knew it too.

 

“Are you Spade?” Marco asked slowly.

 

Ace froze and remained silent all the while mentally cursing the universe. Hadn’t he dealt with enough crap today? He’d already had to reveal one secret, albeit one that Whitebeard and his Enforcers hadn’t seemed to care about but he hadn’t been present or even conscious for the discussion following that reveal so who knew what they actually thought. Add to that his narcoleptic attack. The fact that he wasn’t in a medical room was very telling. Marco had probably told them about his narcolepsy to prevent panic and accusations of bioterror. Which meant that there was a roomful of rather powerful potential enemies who knew one of his weaknesses. So, of course it would make sense in the grand scheme of things that Marco would ask that specific question. It was the one question that could change everything depending solely on how Ace responded. Joy.

 

So what should he say? Should he respond flippantly with a simple ‘Yes’ and expect that to be the end of it? Did he joke about it and say that he had already told him and teasingly inquire if Marco had been listening? No. None of that would do, nor would it be fair. The Enforcers hadn’t needed to listen to him after he’d made it blatantly obvious that he’d effectively been spying on their meeting. They’d let Marco take him to his room though he somehow doubted that anyone else knew that. He had a feeling, based on Marco’s stories of his family that if his siblings knew where he was they’d be in here too if only to tease Marco. Ace frowned at the ceiling and tried to collect his thoughts. Given all of the leeway and accommodations that the Enforcers had granted him, only the truth would suffice. Besides, he owed it to Marco. The man had figured it out already; at this point all that was left was verbal confirmation.

“Ace?” Marco inquired and only then Ace realized that he’d been silent for a while.

 

“Yeah, I’m Spade. As you’ve probably guessed, I lead the Card Deck and they’re the people whose help that you would be accepting,” Ace said and his voice sounded rather distant even to his own ears.

 

“I see.”

 

Ace didn’t even need to look to know that there was a frown on Marco’s face. Clearly he was going to need time to process that information. Instead of the previous comfortable silence this one was tense. Something Sabo had said to him once floated through his mind. _Speak the truth and it shall set you free._ Ace kept his expression blank thought he wanted to laugh hysterically at the idea of that thought. He had told the truth because he had owed it to Marco at the bare minimum due to their relationship. Unfortunately right now the truth seemed to be tying both of them up in knots rather than liberating them.

 

Ace turned his head to look at Marco again. He didn’t want to see the hate or rage or betrayal or whatever combination of the three Marco was feeling but it would be easier to face head on. He did not expect the expression of simple acceptance and understanding that he found instead. Nor did he expect Marco’s next statement.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Marco asked so simply.

 

“Because I didn’t want you to hate me,” Ace replied quietly then returned his gaze to the ceiling.

 

There was a moment of silence. Ace wondered what Marco would say next. Instead of saying anything there were sounds of movement and suddenly Marco was in his line of sight standing over him.

 

“Budge over would you?” Marco asked.

 

Ace complied. He felt more the mattress shift as Marco made himself comfortable. They remained like that for a minute, lying next to each other but not quite touching.

 

“Why would you think I would hate you?”

 

“Why wouldn’t you?” Ace countered, “I’ve been causing you problems since before we met. The fact that I’m Spade and didn’t bother to come forward with any of the information we had before Blackbeard got serious would be reason enough. How about the fact that we were actually actively planning to take out one of your family members before he betrayed you all? Or even the fact that we didn’t succeed? People have hated me for much less.”

 

“Because you’re Roger’s son,” Marco said.

 

“Because I’m Roger’s son,” Ace snarled angrily, “That alone usually makes people want to kill me.”

 

There was another pause after that outburst.

 

“You’re being ridiculous,” Marco said suddenly. “I don’t hate you Ace. I don’t like what you’ve had to deal with and I understand why you didn’t tell me. I just wanted you to confirm it because it would make a couple of things make more sense. I suddenly understand your obsession with the explosions from the storm and why David and Marie work at the Bar. Also Jinbie did have a general description of you from when you fought. Plus, as you said, tattoos are hardly inconspicuous. And…”

 

Ace couldn’t help it. He laughed, cutting Marco off.

 

“Don’t quote me to myself. Jerk.”

 

He could feel Marco’s shrug.

 

“Seriously though,” he continued to cut off any additional comment, “You don’t care? It doesn’t bother you? The fact that I’m Spade, Roger’s son and have an Ability? You don’t...”

 

Ace trailed off as he rolled to his side to look at Marco. He couldn’t figure out how to finish the question. It didn’t appear to matter, as Marco apparently understood.

 

“No,” He said simply, “I don’t. Not about any of it. You’re still you. That hasn’t changed.”

 

Marco licked his lips and a strange energy filled the space between them. Ace would have thought it was nerves but that wasn’t quite right. There was something more it almost felt like that time when…

 

“Ace…,” Marco began but before anymore could be said the door to the room burst open.

 

“Found them!” Someone, Ace wasn’t sure who as he couldn’t see them very well past the bulk of Marco’s body, yelled.

 

Marco clearly knew exactly who it was based on his displeased expression.

 

“He’s…” the person yelling paused and then asked in a more normal tone, “Good question; Marco what are you doing?”

 

“Staring at the ceiling.”

 

“Why?” The bafflement in the other’s tone was confusing.

 

“It’s helpful,” Marco responded with an unsaid ‘obviously’ tacked on to the statement.

 

Ace tucked his face against Marco’s arm muffling his laughter.

 

“How?” The confused voice asked.

 

There was a sigh as Marco decided not to answer and Ace nearly lost it once again as Marco shot him a rather lazy look. Ace knew that Marco was struggling to contain his own mirth as he confused this strange person who he must consider a sibling.

 

“What do you want Rayuko?” he finally said.

 

“Fine, don’t tell me,” The other man, Rayuko apparently, huffed. “Never mind that.  There’s been a new development. The WC sent terms, demands, whatever. Pops didn’t even bother to look at them. He simply wrote something along the lines of ‘Only over my dead body will we surrender to you traitors.’ They stepped up their assault almost immediately after they got the message. I think the opposition took Pop’s words a bit too seriously.”

 

“Great,” Marco sighed and heaved himself to his feet. “Ace, you sure whatever it is you’re going to use to get in touch with your folks is secure?”

 

Ace nodded and rolled himself off the bed and landed on the floor with a thud. He stood and dusted himself off ignoring the stare he was getting from Rayuko.

 

“Very sure.”

 

Marco grinned, “Good then let’s get this ball rolling, eh?”

 

* * *

 

The entire process of attaching the SNAIL to the provided transfract had taken a more than few minutes. It had been made unnecessarily long by the fact that people kept interrupting to state that they had already tried to use the transfract or ask what Ace was doing. Within moments of completing the TransSNAIL, Ace had managed to pick up a signal and started trying to get in touch with Sabo. That had started its own set of rapid-fire questions, specifically from Kingdew and Atmos about what exactly Ace had attached to the Transfract, how it worked and their loud disbelief when Ace told them that he truly didn’t know.

 

They had barely quieted down when the signal finally went through and Sabo’s voice, but not his face appeared on the projection. It had been Sabo’s teasing answer of _Oh there you are Spade. We were wondering where you had gotten to_ that had started the group up again as the rest of the commanders realized who exactly they had sitting in their midst. Ace knew his own reply of _Oh shut up Club_ hadn’t helped at all.

 

Or maybe it had. Ace wasn’t entirely sure. Revealing that he was the leader of the Card Deck had needed to happen sooner or later. Once the shock had worn off and the Whitebeards had confirmed that they would be receptive to any sort of assistance the Deck could muster, all of the involved parties got down to business. The most up to date information had been obtained, verified by Royal Blue, relayed and shared with all the commanders. From there the whole group had all sat down and devised several plans that they hoped would allow them to triumph based on who they knew for sure was stationed where. Unfortunately even Sabo had no idea where exactly Blackbeard was going to be.  The location of his reinforcements, if there were any, was also problematic. The numbers that they had been first contemplating were rather grim and members of the Enforcers and Deck alike were scrambling to figure out how to fix that when Luffy quite literally barged in, dragging a very bemused Jinbie behind him much to the amusement of everyone. Once the pair had learned what exactly was going on they too had insisted on helping. Surprisingly it hadn’t taken too long to get the plans together and out to the other groups. The SNAIL had proven very useful in that regard too. Despite the meetings, strategy session and the number of calls Ace was pleased that he as well as most of the Whitebeard’s commanders had managed to get a couple of hours of sleep in before the time they planned to break out.

 

Light was scarce in the predawn hours but that didn’t matter much as Ace watched Marco’s familiar figure standing on the city walls. His face was grim as he looked out at the force that had besieged the territory. Ace could see that while Marco had known, objectively speaking that the force was huge, the sandstorms had prevented that knowledge from sinking in entirely. Now that he could see the size of the force they were up against it was clear Marco was wondering what exactly this plan of theirs would cost.

 

As far as Ace was concerned it was a fairly simple plan. Well, as simple as anything involving 4 different attacking forces could be at any rate. He’d run things much more complex with the Deck, albeit with smaller groups. Compared to those raids, this was not tricky at all. There was to be a signal and then The Straw Hats, the Card Deck and the Sun Army from Merenis would attack Blackbeard’s forces. They’d be coming from several points on the Border side of Blackbeard’s army. At the same time, The Whitebeard Enforcers would also sally forth from their fortified positions and attack. The plan was to hopefully catch Blackbeard’s forces by surprise, quickly take out their leaders and then catch the stragglers who surrendered when the chain of command collapsed.

 

Ace had tried and he knew Luffy and Sabo had also to add to their forces by contacting the rest of Whitebeard’s allies. Many of those contacted wanted to help but none of them would make it in time. That meant that this four pronged attack would have to do. They wouldn’t get another chance.

 

Ace watched as Marco took one final look at the size of their opponents before making his way down to the men that he was leading. It was clear that he did not doubt the strength of his men as well as the rest of the Enforcers. No the look on his face was that of a commander who knew that even a superior fighting force could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Judging from Marco’s expression he thought it was highly likely that this battle was most likely going to turn into a numbers game.

“Ready?” Ace asked from his position leaning casually against the wall.

 

He had volunteered to be the person who set off the signal. He knew that alone had Marco suspecting that the signal had something to do with Ace’s unique talents in manipulating fire.

 

“As we’ll ever be I guess. I’m not going to lie; I’m rather hoping that Blackbeard is in the faction that I face. It will be rather satisfying to rip that asshole apart. He’s not going to stop coming after us until he has died and I hope to hell that I get to be the one who puts him in the ground.”

 

“Get in line.” Ace replied with a sharp-toothed smile

 

Marco returned the smile with a bloodthirsty grin of his own. The both of them had their own grievances with Blackbeard but it was anyone’s guess as to where exactly the putrid fecaloid waste of space was.

 

“Are you ready?” Marco asked in return.

 

Ace heard the underlying question Marco was asking. Today, regardless of what went down, would mark the end of a vengeance filled quest that had consumed almost the entirety of Ace’s life thus far. Marco clearly was concerned that Ace might take chances to see that vengeance realized.

 

“We’ll see,” Ace replied with a small shrug.

 

Marco nodded.

 

Ace had been hoping for a little more than that but it would have to do for now. They both had places to get to after all, Marco needed to his men and Ace had to get in position to set off the signal. However Marco wasn’t leaving. He had a look on his face like he needed to tell Ace something but didn’t quite know how to say it.

 

“Ace…” Marco began yet before he could continue a loud bang echoed through the quiet morning air and the causing the street beneath their feet to tremble.

 

“What the hell?”

 

“I take it that that was not supposed to happen?” Marco asked dryly.

 

They exchanged worried looks before turning scrambling up the wall to see what had just happened. The sight that greeted them was unexpected and quite terrifying. Halfway between two gates, where there had once been a solid expanse of ground now stood a rather expansive crater. Blackened earth, the occasional burning bush, and twisted pieces of metal decorated its edge. In the center of the crater stood the burning husk of some metal monstrosity and a couple of very upset people who strangely enough did not appear to be too terribly hurt despite their closeness to the epicenter. A mild groan escaped Ace as he recognized the arguing pair then looked around for their leader.

 

Marco made a questioning noise. It was clear he didn’t understand the reaction.

 

Ace elbowed Marco and pointed with his chin to a figure standing on the far edge of the crater wearing a very familiar straw hat.

 

“Well, there goes the element of surprise,” Ace growled as Luffy launched himself towards the center of the crater with a yell. He turned to Marco, “You might want to get off the wall and back to your men. We have to attack now because there is no way that everyone else is going to ignore that. I’m going to send up the signal then I’ll join you. Fair warning, it’s going to be very bright.”

 

Marco nodded acknowledging Ace’s point but he still hesitated apparently wanting to say something. In fact it sort of looked to Ace like a bunch of words were all jammed up behind Marco’s lips and he couldn’t bring himself to utter them.

 

Damnit Marco, Ace thought to himself, this is not the time to get tongue tied. We both have jobs to do and we can’t wait around on the top of this wall for you to get over your reluctance to open your mouth and say whatever it is you feel that you absolutely have to say.

 

Ace was just about to turn to go when Marco suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the forearm successfully getting his attention. Marco pulled him close while muttering something that sounded to Ace like _don’t have time for this_ and proceeded to kiss him thoroughly.

 

Ace was rather surprised. Marco hadn’t really gone in for public displays of affection before. In fact, he’d been rather circumspect even in the safety of the S’anwich Bar. The kiss wasn’t unwelcome and Ace returned it enthusiastically.

 

When the kiss ended Marco took one long careful look. Ace could almost read his thoughts primarily because it looked like he was thinking exactly what Ace was thinking. Who knew if this would be the last time they saw each other? They were about to enter a free for all and anything could go wrong.

 

“Be careful,” Marco finally said.

 

Ace understood and uttered a soft “You too,” in return.

 

Marco turned and slid down the ladder to join his men.

 

Ace watched him go for just a moment before heading off toward the top of the gate house where he would set off the signal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are guys. Its the beginning of the end. I hope you've enjoyed the ride thus far. Fair warning, you're gonna want to start holding on to the edge of your seats because things are about to get very crazy and really messy really quickly. Like, the next chapter quickly. And I'm hoping that I get the next chapter out by the middle of the week but no promises. 
> 
> So I know I haven't really messed with the warnings much in the past and I know people tend to ignore them. However, like I said, things are gonna get messy. Really really messy. War is not pretty and I don't mind saying that here because I'm pretty sure that its fairly obvious that's where this is going. That said, there will be an addendum to the warnings. So even if you don't normally read those, please please please pay attention to them during the next chapter at least. I'll try to include vague ones at the top and then more spoiler ones before my author's note here below. I think that was all I wanted to say so I guess that's it for the moment. Leave me a review please? I love hearing from you all and I really want to know what you all think. Hearing your theories and comments about what you loved is my favorite part of posting.


	19. Luck of the Draw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing in life is certain except death....
> 
> And Taxes.
> 
> Death and Taxes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning and Tags have been updated! See end notes for more spoilery warnings.
> 
>  
> 
> This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds.

Light blossomed behind Marco as he jumped off the staircase bypassing the last few steps leading to the ground level where his men were waiting. It had to be Ace for the light was much to low in the sky and way to intense to be sunlight at this hour of the morning.

“Eyes forward,” Marco said when he noticed some of his men staring up at the wall.

“Why haven’t we gone yet?” A brash voice from the back demanded. Marco recognized it as belonging to a man named Teage.

The question was almost immediately followed by another person, Kristoff, wondering, “Isn’t that the signal?”

Marco pinched the bridge of his nose. There wasn’t a member of the enforcers who hadn’t been looking forward to actually taking a bite out of the army at their gates. After so long being effectively trapped tempers had started to fray.

“No” Marco finally said, “That’s not the signal, it’s just prep for whatever the signal is. Ace assured me we’d know the signal when we heard it and since I’m not hearing anything it just means we’ve got to wait.”

“I’m sick of waiting,” A third voice, a blond dainty woman by the name of Sofia muttered. “We’ve let them think they’ve cowed us for too long already.”

“I agree,” Marco said and from the wince that appeared on Sofia’s face he hadn’t been supposed to hear that, “Which is why it’s important that you keep your eyes forward. You wouldn’t want to miss the start of the battle would you?”

That got some chuckles from the group and they fell silent once more simply waiting for whatever the signal was.  Undercurrents of barely restrained patience ran through the assembled group reminding Marco of a group of scent hounds that had a trail to follow but were unable to do so. He couldn’t say how long they waited there in silence before a rather loud boom that sounded remarkably like someone had set off an explosion in a bell, rang out. It was followed by a strange sounding thwump that brought a smile to Marco’s face. That sound was undoubtedly the signal. Ace had said it was going to be distinct and it was, sure enough, distinct.

“Charge!” Marco called out but it was entirely unnecessary as the group surged forward as one.

The men manning the gates barely had time to get the gates open before the first division was pushing through. Directly behind them came a fire that moved over the ground despite the fact that there was nothing there to burn. The flames appeared to have a life of their own followed in the wake of the charging men. A deranged laugh echoed off the walls originating from the flames instead of the normal crackle of fire. The situation was rather eerie but the First Division did not falter and Marco was right on their tail following the fire. The laughing sound calmed slightly shifting from deranged to something more normal sounding the farther they went though it was still loud, free and unrestrained.

“Ace?” Marco asked as he kept pace with the last of the flames.

As he watched sharp grin formed in the nearest flame. It took less than a second for it to condense and then Ace was running alongside him, coat flaring dramatically. Marco blinked in wonder but pressed forwards allowing the surge to carry him forward. He realized he was passing bodies of those who had already fallen in battle. None of the ones he had seen so far had belonged to his division.

Marco had known Ace carried the ability of fire since the other had copped to occasionally being known as Spade. He hadn’t realized that this was just how the ability manifested. Marco was aware that the last person who had the Ability of Fire had only been able to generate, direct, and convey emotion with it in small amounts. The person before that had only been able to muster up enough power to set things on fire. No one ever to Marco’s knowledge had ever been able to literally turn himself or herself into flame. Someone took a swing at him and Marco realized that this really wasn’t the time to be thinking about Ace’s peculiar manifestation. He could wonder about the implications of this at a later date.

“Happy Hunting.” Marco said for lack of anything else to say.

Ace grinned at him with a smile full of teeth that promised nothing but blood and pain before dissolving into another flash of fire which had an immediate and visceral impact on Marco causing blood to rush to places other than those needed for fighting.

This also wasn’t the time to be obnoxiously attracted to his lover Marco reminded himself. He blinked and pressed on looking for any opponent that he could take. After a few minor engagements he paused and looked around. Ace had disappeared in the tide of the battle and the fire was nowhere in sight. He probably had headed towards his assigned spot Marco surmised. There was no time to worry about it, not that Marco was worried, Ace clearly could take care of himself.

Marco handily dispatched his next couple opponents then finally spotted something that only he could take care of. Luckily he was perfectly positioned to do so. Increasing his speed slightly, Marco launched himself at a man in a rather filthy Brass’s uniform who had just come up behind Sofia. She hadn’t seen him in the melee preoccupied as she was with her current opponent. Marco knew he had to get the timing just right on this and lashed out with one leg. The blade of his foot connected with the man’s neck and he flew, impacting the ground with a loud bang. The Brass mook bounced once, then twice, hitting his head both times before he came to a full stop some several yards away on top of several other Brass agents who hadn’t been expecting a flying body and thus were knocked over. Judging by the angle of the original attacker’s neck he wouldn’t be getting up again.

Marco realized that the people under the body might pose a problem as soon as they could regain their feet. Unfortunately before he could ensure that the knocked over mooks would be taken out of the action another man charged at him from his left side. Dispatching this new threat with the same sort of ease that he had taken care of his earlier opponents Marco found himself moving fluidly through the combat, methodically taking down anyone who had the misfortune of crossing his path. His enemies fell like leaves in autumn.

When he had a moment to catch his breath Marco took the time to think about the entire scope of the battle. For such a large force that had been sitting outside their gates for over a week, one would think that this army would have been a little more prepared for retaliation. This was especially true given that Whitebeard did not have a reputation for sitting around when he or any of his allies were rumored to be in danger.

He had no sooner finished that thought when an enraged scream tore through the air. It cut through the sounds of chaos from the battle and Marco’s head snapped to see what had caused it. He knew that voice. He couldn’t say that he had expected exactly what he saw but it wasn’t entirely a surprise. They were in the midst of battle after all and death was inevitable. A spear-wielding figure stood silhouetted over the body of someone who had apparently just been slain. It took Marco a moment to recognize the spear wielder as Sofia and even less time to recognize the body beneath her as belonging to Teage. Once he did Marco absently broke the neck of the man whom he had been fighting almost on autopilot while he watched Sofia scream her grief to the sky. Suddenly the scream cut off and he saw her charge the man who had just slain her partner a merciless expression on her face.

That wasn’t going to end well Marco knew but he had no time to worry about it as he dropped the body he was holding and sprinted to take out the man who was aiming a shot at Sofia’s entirely unprotected back. A solid flying kick to the man’s ribs had the shot flying wide. Marco grinned unrepentantly as he heard another unfamiliar voice cry out in pain from the direction the shot had carried. Apparently the idiot had hit one of his own men. Good. That made one less enemy to worry about.

“Ooouch” commented a very sarcastic and dry voice.

Marco glanced back to the man whom he had just attacked. Despite the force of the kick his opponent only appeared to have been pushed back a few feet. Either he had rolled with the kick or just taken it and stepped back. Marco didn’t know which of the two would be more impressive.

“Ah, sorry” the man continued “Was that supposed to have hurt?”

Well, well, Marco thought as he suddenly recognized his opponent and his focus narrowed. This man had certainly not been present when Blackbeard had initially shown up. He must have come as part of the backup forces. Absently Marco wondered how many of the other top members of the Brass were present on this battlefield. If it was more than just this one then things were going to undoubtedly become very complicated very quickly. Marco shoved those thoughts away. He had to believe that only he had gotten unlucky enough to deal with a Vice Admiral. This would not be an easy fight and it would take all of his focus. He couldn’t afford any distractions.

“Kizaru. What a surprise. They actually let you out to play,” Marco replied conversationally.

“Ahhh they did indeed,” Kizaru said slowly grinning.

Neither moved. They had met in battle on several previous occasions. Each time only extenuating circumstances had allowed both of them to survive. Marco wasn’t going to make the mistake of committing to an all out attack against this caliber of opponent.

“What are you doing here?” Marco asked “I thought the Brass wasn’t officially sanctioning this attack.”

 

Kizaru batted his eyes and put on his most innocent face, “Officially I’m not; here that is.”

 

Marco nearly groaned aloud.  He had forgotten about the man’s utterly incomprehensible and absolutely disgusting personality.  He decided not to reply.  If he remembered correctly Kizaru would be unable to resist explaining himself if Marco refrained from excessive conversation.

 

 “I’m sure that the upper echelons would have something to say if they knew but they don’t so who cares?  I certainly don’t.  Besides I’m sure they will forgive me when I tell them of our success,” Kizaru continued without really stopping.

 

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re currently loosing,” Marco pointed out.

 

Kizaru actually had the nerve to pout.  “Mou, how scary.  I’m shaking,” he said doing absolutely nothing of the sort.

 

“I thought you might be concerned about the numbers.  You’ll find it hard to remain _officially not present_ when your side loses enough people.”

Kizaru shrugged, “I haven’t lost anything that the world couldn’t do without anyways.”

Marco shook his head in disgust at the people were just an expendable resource, like ammunition or armaments attitude. It was typical of the upper echelon in the ranks of the Brass. They did in fact openly refer to the line soldiers as _cannon fodder_.

Kizaru noted the grimace and continued, “You’re all too soft anyways. So come my friend Commander of the First Division. Let us settle this once and for all.” Kizaru grinned, “Oh what fun I shall have at the end of the day when I am dancing on your grave.”

“Are you sure you’re not going to need to have someone come and save your sorry ass again?” Marco asked rhetorically .

Kizaru’s mouth pressed together tightly. Marco dropped to the floor letting the beam of light that Kizaru had just shot at him sail far above his head. Another yell of pain from somewhere behind him announced that that energy blast had found a target. Marco couldn’t be bothered to figure out who it had hit as he kicked around low with his legs hoping to sweep the other man off his feet. It didn’t work but Marco didn’t give Kizaru any time to counter by using the momentum of the kick to quickly stand and lunge forwards in one smooth movement.

Marco knew that he needed to keep Kizaru fully focused on him. If the other man bothered to direct his attention elsewhere there would be problems. Only one of the other Division Commanders would stand a chance against this caliber of an opponent. When last Marco had looked none of them were anywhere nearby.

Marco used the lunge to feint a punch with one hand following up with an elbow to the diaphragm as he went by. Kizaru retaliated with a flurry of blows. Marco dipped and turned blocking a blow that, if it had hit, would have most definitely killed anyone else. Marco kept blocking and dodging punches, circling but always keeping in motion. Kizaru followed closely behind his blows unrelenting but getting wilder as he failed to connect. Marco patiently waited for an opening. Once he found one it was his turn to attack. Unfortunately, Kizaru was just as canny and able to avoid all but the most minor of blows.

They persisted like this for some time neither man able to gain and keep the upper hand. Brass and Enforcers alike strove to stay out of the way as their battle wandered all over the field. More than one person who had the misfortune of not being quick enough to get out of the way had been dispatched with ruthless efficiency by one of the other of them.  They were so focused on each other that Marco couldn’t even tell if the unfortunates who had been in the way were friend or foe. Luckily after the first couple casualties people tended to avoid the fight.

After a good twenty minutes both Marco and Kizaru were bleeding from numerous wounds. Marco’s were definitely more visible because he’d been unable to completely avoid a couple of Kizaru’s energy beams. Despite the lack of obvious wounds Kizaru had to be smarting though. Marco knew that his blows had connected several times and Marco had seen the man casually spit out a bit of blood earlier in their fight. No banter had been exchanged between the pair after that first conversation. Marco was slightly surprised when Kizaru spoke up after Marco had successfully parried one of his attacks.

“As entertaining as this has been I find myself growing bored with our encounter.”

Marco’s eyes widened as Kizaru’s words registered. That could mean either one of two things. Either Kizaru was going to withdraw from the battle completely or he was going to make an attempt to turn the tide. Marco had no clue as to the state of the battle at the moment nor could he afford to spare a glance to figure it out. He could only attempt to prevent the man from doing either, though that alone would probably not be enough in the long run.

“What a shame.” Marco said, taking advantage of Kizaru’s open side to land a rather powerful roundhouse kick to the other man’s ribs. “I was rather enjoying myself.” He said keeping his voice as devoid of emotion as Kizaru’s was.

“Oh?” Was all Kizaru said as he redoubled his efforts.

At that point the battle between them increased in intensity. Kicks and punches flew. Kizaru attempted to land a direct hit with his energy beams while Marco ducked, swerved and countered. Yells of pain echoed as the shots hit other combatants but Marco had no time to worry about any of that until he heard something that made his blood run cold. That sound had been Whitebeard’s enraged bellow.

Marco couldn’t help himself. He threw a flurry of blows then turned to look quickly to see where he was and what was happening. To Marco’s surprise he was not where he expected to be. Somehow during the course of the battle they had managed to cover enough ground to be two gates down from where they had initially started. In fact this was the gate that Whitebeard himself had elected to lead his charge from. Marco’s quick glance told him that while the Enforcers seemed to have a handle on their individual battles their father was struggling. Marco didn’t didn’t think twice. He completely disregarded Kizaru, his current opponent, and headed to his adopted father’s aid. He was very glad he did when he recognized just who exactly Whitebeard was fighting.

It was Blackbeard. The man had probably waited to find out where Whitebeard was after the attack had started before revealing himself. A sword glinted in the sunlight and Marco gasped as it started its decent. He knew he wouldn’t make it in time and watched as he caught sight of a rather nasty looking shoulder wound. It looked as if it was inhibiting Whitebeard’s movements. There was no way his father would be able to get his Bisento up in time to block either. Marco watched in horror as he sprinted across the battlefield. He couldn’t loose Pops. Not like this.

Suddenly a pained shout sounded from somewhere on the other side of Whitebeard and Blackbeard’s fight and Marco watched dumbfounded as a flickering form flew through the space between the two men. It was Ace! The sword strike passed harmlessly through Ace who had apparently enough sense to turn himself completely into flames. The flame form bent with the force of the blow causing a splash against the ground and setting some of the surroundings on fire. Ace’s reconstitution of his original was almost instantaneous.

Ace didn’t appear to notice that he’d just interrupted a fight as he turned and yelled, “Is that all you’ve got asshole?!” back in the direction that he’d just come from.

Fortunately, Whitebeard recovered first. Ace had inadvertently provided the distraction that his father had needed. Whitebeard’s Bisento came up blocking the counterstrike from Blackbeard’s sword with a loud clang. It was, however, no longer necessary. Blackbeard had stopped his sword mid swing after it had gone through Ace. It was clear that his attention now was focused solely on Ace.

Blackbeard twitched and Marco could see the indecision on his face as clear as day. The man just couldn’t decide whether or not to continue fighting his arch nemesis, the man who’s death would grant him whatever he wanted with The World Collective or go after the newcomer. It was clear at least to Marco the Blackbeard now knew exactly who had been foiling his plans for months.

Ace for his part had now noticed exactly whose battle he had just interrupted. His expression was hard as he casually nodded at Whitebeard and glared at the man who by all accounts had been making Ace’s life hell for years. It was easy to see the hate playing across Ace’s features even from this distance. Though to the surprise of everyone present Ace dismissed Blackbeard outright. He merely glowered at him but his focus was partly elsewhere.

A moment later Marco saw why as a loud screaming whistle pierced the air. Blackbeard had hesitated too long and his choice was made for him as something red, hot, viscous and bubbling flew through the air and splashed down exactly where Ace had been standing only moments before. Screams sounded as the splatter caught the other combatants by surprise and the smell of burning meat permeated the air.

“Lava.” Marco hissed as he realized what exactly the substance was and what that meant. The silhouette of a rather large and buff man approaching from the same direction as the lava only confirmed his suspicions. They had not been lucky in the slightest. Marco knew that since Kizaru and Akainu were here then Aokiji was as well. The three were either deployed as one unit or by themselves, never in any other combination.

“Awful lot of firepower for an ‘unofficial’ mission” Marco muttered to himself as he continued his run towards his father.

He could see that battle between the two had resumed only this time Marco was rather thankful to see that it was Blackbeard who was now struggling.

“Indeed. I wonder just exactly what it is that he’s doing here. He shouldn’t be here any more than I should.” Came a rather nonchalant voice from right beside him startling Marco.

“Kizaru,” Marco commented, “I thought you were bored.”

“Oh I was,” Kizaru said with a shrug. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to let you run off in the middle of our fight. Besides,” the man continued as Marco huffed in annoyance and struck out with a sidekick that was quickly dodged, “Things have just gotten interesting. Too bad you won’t get to see it.”

“What?” Marco asked.

A sharp pain in his back was his answer to that question and Marco craned his neck to see that a young man clad in the uniform of the Brass had just stabbed him in the back. That would be easy enough to deal with once the knife was removed from his back. Making the mistake of healing with a weapon in him was something that he never wanted to repeat. Taking a step forward Marco felt the knife slip out of the young officer’s hand. Unfortunately it appeared to be in a place that he would not be able to reach easily. The knife would be easy enough to deal with once he wasn’t in danger of bleeding out.

“Ow!” he said.

Kizaru’s pleased face at his attempts to move was rather annoying. Marco ignored it as he relaxed and waited for his powers to heal him. He blinked in surprise when no brilliant blue flame appeared.

“Oh, Shit!” Marco muttered taking a rather labored breath as he realized what was happening. Sabo had warned them about this new weapon that the Brass had developed. Apparently he had just been stabbed with one. As he could now attest it effectively shut down Abilities.

“Seastone,” he said matter of factly to no one in particular.

“Oh?” Kizaru actually had the gall to look curious. “You know what this is? Interesting. I wasn’t aware that the First Division Commander had an Ability?”

Marco didn’t quite understand the point of Kizaru’s last statement. It was probably to get some sort of dying confession as to what his ability was so that they could be on the look out for it when he died. Was this what dying felt like? It had been a long time since he was last truly in danger of dying but it certainly appeared so. Damn. That was highly inconvenient. Well, he certainly wasn’t going to go out helping the Brass with anything. He tuned out the rest of whatever it was that Kizaru was saying and instead looked at the two rather intense battles that were taking place right in front of him. It was sort of a penance, he thought. Watching when he was helpless to do anything. Serves me right for being stupid enough to get stabbed in the back he mused to himself. Spots appeared at the edges of his vision but Marco forced his eyes to stay open as he took in what he knew would be his final look at his father who happened to be still pushing Blackbeard back. His gaze wandered over slightly and to his surprise he met Ace’s silver grey eyes that were studying him in concern.

“I’m sorry,” Marco whispered though he knew Ace couldn’t hear it. “I wasn’t careful enough. I lo…”

Ace’s eyes widened in horror, as he appeared to realize what was happening and Marco struggled to finish his sentence and apologize again. Ace shouldn’t have that sort of expression on his face and this one was his fault. There was nothing he could do however as he swayed slightly and collapsed, the darkness pulling him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** This chapter in specific contains excessive violence, blood, friendly fire, and character death of OC's and main characters. Also contains fairly detailed fight sequences, broken necks, back stabbings, explosions, fire and swearing, courtesy of Ace. Again Ill repeat that they're at war guys. War and all of it's associated dangers are not pretty. If there end up being other things that people need me to tag, please let me know.
> 
> **AN:** Hey guys! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa to those who are celebrating said holidays this year! Happy Winter Solstice to those who are not! Regardless of what you're celebrating, here's your present! Its a cliffhanger! Dont y'all just love me? This is gonna be it for a little bit because Ive got massive edits that I need to make to the next chapter but hopefully it wont be too terribly long. So yeahhh.... let me know what you think?


	20. Dead Man's Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There may be a price to pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning and Tags have been updated! See end notes for more spoilery warnings.
> 
> This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds.

"What?" Ace whispered in shock as his mind attempted to determine exactly what Marco had tried to say.

Had Marco just tried to apologize? What the heck did he feel the need to apologize for? For not being careful? For not being….the realization hit Ace all at once. He watched in growing horror as the man he loved swayed and fell boneless to the ground. Any hope that he might have had about Marco's survival diminished with every second that the other man didn't move. Even at this distance Ace could see the growing stain of red and the knife that had caused it. The hilt of that knife was still clasped in the hands of the man who had stabbed Marco in the back and was even now ensuring that it remained firmly stuck there. Standing over both of them was one of the other Vice Admirals of the Brass. That particular rat bastard was looking all too smug and pleased with the sudden turn of affairs.

"MARCO!" someone screamed.

It was a heart wrenching sound, full of terror and grief. The battle slowed almost to a halt as nearly everyone within earshot looked around in confusion for the source of the sound. The only exception appeared to be the Whitebeard Enforcers. For no reason that Ace could understand neither Whitebeard nor the rest of the Enforcers seemed to care that Marco had just fallen. It made no sense to him at all especially given how they all said that they were family. Instead the Enforcers simply took advantage of the lull in all the chaos and pressed their attacks.

The fighting quickly picked up once again but by this time it was fairly obvious that the Brass and Blackbeard's forces were struggling. It appeared that Marco's death and the scream was the break that the Enforcers had needed and within moments the only battles that were still going on were those between the heavy hitters. The more powerful members of the opposition who were currently either unengaged or fighting less experienced folks took the opportunity to attempt to escape. Seeing some of their leaders starting to vacate the field caused many of Blackbeard's troops to also turn and run or, in some cased, give up entirely.

"Fucking hell, if he's dying or dead you assholes are going to pay," Ace muttered to himself not bothering to specify which assholes he was even thinking about: The Brass, Blackbeard or Marco's seemingly uncaring family.

Ace absently realized that it was probably a good thing that he had so much experience fighting while his world was falling to pieces around him as he backhanded some jerk who was trying to stab him from the side. Clearly some part of his brain was still functioning even on autopilot as he dealt with the overwhelming emotions.

Suddenly the world snapped into pinpoint focus as the asshole that had thrown him this far reached his area of the field stirring the men surrounding Ace up into fervor. Ace didn't have time for this. His foot connected with some random person's chest, most likely breaking ribs at the minimum. He couldn't lose himself now. Ace elbowed someone in the face while yanking his knife out of a third idiot who had stepped in front of him.

There was a possibility that Marco was still alive especially since that cowardly piece of shit was still holding onto the knife in Marco's back. He needed to get over there! Another blow was dodged and Ace surged forward delivering a clean hit knocking whoever the hell it was he was fighting now back several paces. He needed to get out of here. He had to see for himself if Marco was all right. There was no conscious decision made on his part as he raced towards where Marco had fallen hitting, stabbing and in some cases tossing anyone who happened to get in his way. Friend or foe Ace didn't even bother to check.

As he surged forward, he reminded himself that there would be time later to find a spot where he could vent? Mourn? Rage? Curse life in its entirety? Ace wasn't entirely sure but it didn't matter. Right now there was someone in front of him blocking his path. It was that asshole from before. Presumably the jerk was one of the more powerful members of the Brass on the field. To make matters worse that someone was boasting.

"Get the fuck out of my way you fucking bastard!" Ace growled, low and dangerous cutting the voice off in mid-brag.

There was a stunned silence as if the Asshole, that's what Ace was officially going to call him, was shocked that Ace or anyone for that matter would speak to him in such a way. Really, he did not have time for this.

Unfortunately Asshole, didn't bother to identify himself to the _Devil's spawn scum of the earth_ who had interrupted him, but merely started up his tirade again.

Ace started to half shift into fire, hoping that manipulating the flames would allow him to get around, over, or through the berk and reduce the time it would take to cross the battlefield.

The Asshole continued to monologue but Ace wasn't listening. He had almost fully shifted into his flame form. The only words that he caught were audacity, ability, eradication, bloodline and some other such nonsense. He moved on past the blowhard and was suddenly stopped as a fist of magma pushed right through him.

Ace screamed, the physical pain nearly forcing him to become solid. The Asshole had caught the spot in the middle of his torso that hadn't quite finished turning from flesh into flame and it burned. It burned; he was melting. It was too much. He couldn't think through the pain on top of everything else he was dealing with at the moment.

Ace concentrated; ignoring the pain, the emotions, the battle and everything else going on around him. A second of clarity was all he needed to concoct a plan. Through sheer force of will he got it.

"If you won't get the fuck out of my way you thrice cursed Dickwad," Ace snarled lowly more than half-flame, "then I'm going to fucking make you. Remove your hand from my person or I will remove it for you."

"And what is a piece of scum like you going to do?" The Asshole asked in a taunt.

"One," Ace said grimly.

It was taking more effort than he thought it would to finish completely transmuting himself.

"No really and whatever it is, I doubt you'll be able to hurt me," Asshole continued rather conversationally.

"Two."

The burning flesh did not want to shift and it hurt like hell to force it, but Ace forced it to do as he commanded anyway. The Asshole didn't bother to comment this time. Instead he moved his hand but not out of the hole that he had made in Ace's person. No this time it felt like he was trying to find Ace's heart probably to crush it or any other organ that he could get his hand on. It was just too bad for jerkface that Ace had already turned all his organa to fireform. There was nothing there for his opponent to find even if the sensation was somewhat nauseating for Ace. Ah well, this was going to be fun if it worked. The Asshole deserved it too. No one, no one could claim that Ace hadn't warned the man.

Ace smiled, and vaguely realized that he probably looked like the monster in all the stories from the Collective. A smiling deamon covered in fire and blood and god only knows what else.

"Three," he said and the hand still did not move.

Screw it bastard. Ace gave up his form completely to the flames. He started laughing manically when he heard the Asshole's bellow of rage. Ace had literally slipped through his fingers. Needless to say Asshole was not pleased.

Ace, however, didn't go very far. He needed to be close for what he had planned to work. Quickly, quickly because he wouldn't get another chance he summoned all the fire he possessed. It was all of the fire that he had ever produced condensed tightly as he could somewhere inside of his core. It grew into a small ball of pure white light that was deceptively innocent in appearance. Like a small star it drew attention rendering any attempt at staying relatively anonymous on the battlefield useless.

Ace took advantage of the attention the light was gathering. He took his humanoid form once more just as he forced the little light forward out of him exposing it to the open air. It hung there for a second floating in the air ignoring all attempts of gravity and the laws of physics to make it adhere to the normal rules. The ball pulsed once, twice, thrice, then sent a flash of pure light out in a ring. It appeared as if it were getting used to the idea that it was no longer contained or controlled by anything. Suddenly the ball collapsed in on itself for no apparent reason.

The Asshole laughed, "That's it? That's your trump card? For a piece of scum that actually managed to put up a fight I must admit I was expecting more. What do I get? A disappearing ball of light?" The laugher stopped abruptly. "Enough tricks," He said reaching forward lava gathering in his hands once again, "You're dead."

"Maybe," Ace said offhandedly.

His sudden admission of potential weakness had the Asshole stopping in his tracks. Ace understood it was entirely possible he was going to die. He had a hole in his chest. It was probably right through a lung. He was barely holding himself together and remaining standing was currently taking more effort than he really wanted to admit to himself. Death had always been a distinct possibility of this battle and Ace had only made it worse by deciding to try out an entirely untested application of his powers. He mustered up enough energy to put a tired but cocky grin on his face.

"But if I am, I'm taking you and the rest of these jerks with me," Ace glanced around at the number of fighters who had converged on his position, "that'll be enough."

"And what are you going to do?" the Asshole taunted. "Your trump card failed. Men!" He called out, "Surround him! We may have lost but this one will not escape!"

Well, Ace thought, that meant that most of the rest of the battles had all but ended. He absently noticed a growing crowd of Enforcers around where Marco had fallen out of the corner of his eye. That view didn't remain unobstructed for long as members of the Brass and what appeared to be left of Blackbeard's men surrounded him, complying with the wishes of the highest-ranking officer still present on the battlefield.

Being able to see the group shortly became irrelevant as someone's keening wails echoed over the battlefield and clued Ace about situation over there. An echoing scream answered any remaining question he might have had. He sighed shallowly. That could only mean one thing. Marco was dead.

Everything paused for a fraction of a moment and suddenly there was enraged yelling coming from that direction. Obviously the rest of the Enforcers had just realized his peril. Someone had noticed that one of their own was in surrounded by enemies with no escape. It was sweet, Ace thought absently. They were going to risk their lives for him when he'd given them all headaches for months. For their sake, he hoped, that they didn't make it in time. If this paid off and he survived, he really did not want to be responsible for any of Marco's family or his own people getting hurt.

There was a spark from behind the Asshole right where the ball of fire had disappeared. Ace couldn't help it, a triumphant smirk crept across his face. Before anyone really noticed or could question what the heck he was smiling about a wall of pure white fire erupted outwards in all direction from the spark.

_I didn't get to say goodbye_ was Ace's last thought as he shifted and lost himself in the flames.

* * *

It was gone. All gone. Nothing left to burn. Ashes to ashes. Done. Finished. Complete? Embers pulsed once, twice, in the center of the circular moonscape of ash then died. All was quiet. The nearby survivors of the explosion stood in disbelief and shock. No one noticed as a small flame flickered to life.

* * *

The fire felt small, tired and scattered in a way that it hadn't for a long time. Hungry. It extended its awareness. Oh. Outside the circular area that once had been its full form there was food. Well that meant the hunger was easily remedied. The fire moved. So many different types of food here. New things that it hadn't tried before. A hungry tongue of flame licked forward. The fire didn't know what it was consuming, didn't need to know, didn't even care so long as it was combustible. The food sizzled slightly, the way wet things did when burnt, as the fire advanced. The fire paid it no mind. There wasn't enough liquid to douse it's flames.

It finished off a pile of fuel and felt around for more. There were so many different pockets of fuel/food around. With a single-minded determination to consume and devour the fire surged forward from one to another growing in an ever-widening circle as it went. It was large now but it needed to grow more. It was still hungry. It consumed and kept consuming everything that lay in its path not stopping until something moved.

It was in the path between flame and the next food. It moved. That caught the fire's interest. This was new. Normally not-fuel-yet did its best to avoid fire. The rest of the not yet food that it could sense was behaving as it normally did so why was this, no wait there were two moving not-fuel-yet coming towards it? It, they, moved right up to the flames as if they wanted to enter. Curious, the fire moved to create a non-burning space for these two pieces of not-yet-fuel to move around in.

Strangely this caused one of the not-fuel-yet clad in more fuel to call out. "Ace?"

There was no answer. This made sense to the fire. The only things in the fire beside the fire itself were these two moving pieces of not-fuel-yet. Was one calling to the other? No. The other not-fuel-yet was looking around as if it was waiting for a response. The fact that it did not get one seemed to make it move around more.

The non-response did not seem to deter the taller one in the slightest. "Ace!" It called again, "Where the hell are you?"

Once again there was no answer and the smaller one took it upon itself to try to find this Ace whatever it was.

"ACE!" the smaller one screamed. Its voice echoed in the silence, the force of it making the flames dance.

The fire watched, as the pair wandered making sure to pull itself out of their way as they wandered closer and closer to the heart of the fire. They stopped abruptly as they reached the area where the heart of the fire was supposed to be. There were no flames here. Where there should have been a roaring bonfire being sustained by coals there was nothing but a large ashy crater. What did the not-fuel-yet want with this area? It wasn't interesting at all. Couldn't they see there was no food there?

"Ace?" The small one asked again while the larger one clambered down into the crater.

"Sorry, Luffy," The tall one said. "I don't know where Ace is. All that's down here is his hat. I hope he didn't…"

"Course he didn't," the smaller not-fuel-yet, who was apparently a Luffy whatever that was, said definitively. "Ace wouldn't loose himself to the flames."

Suddenly images were flashing in the fire. It struggled to keep up with them all. This wasn't right. Something wasn't right here.

"He promised,"

That last statement was delivered with such faith and certainty that the images crystallized in the fire's awareness and that knowledge spread.

"When did he promise that?" Sabo wondered but Luffy didn't answer as the pair continued to search the area.

What was he doing? Ace absently wondered as he remained in the flames watching his brothers. They were worried. They had walked into a blaze that they had no clue if he controlled looking for him. The least he could do would be to let them know he was all right.

It was harder than he thought to force himself out of the flames and once he did he knew at once that he had overdone it.

"Ace!" Luffy cried out cheerfully.

"Hey." Ace rasped.

Moving hurt like hell and he had barely taken two steps before he collapsed against his younger brother.

"Sorry."

He wasn't sure what exactly he was apologizing for. It wasn't for using Luffy as crutch. No it was for something far more important but he couldn't remember what. At the moment he didn't know much of anything at all. All he knew was that they had won, Marco was dead and…

Actually that was it. He had no clue if Blackbeard had been slain.

"You ok?" Sabo asked coming up behind him.

Ace ignored the question. Struggling to make his mouth work he managed to choke out "Blackbeard?"

Thankfully Sabo knew what he was talking about and shook his head in frustration. "He got away when you did whatever the hell it was that you did."

Ace stared at Sabo in disbelief as a fog of anger filled his vision and he pushed away from Luffy. He had to get out of here before he completely shut down or lost himself into the anger and pain. He tried to move but his side screamed at him to stop everything he was doing. Shutting down it would have to be then Ace absently noted as an exhausted lethargy replaced the anger. There would be time to mourn over Marco's death and rage against the unfairness in the world later. That would have to do but until he was able to work through this his own way he wouldn't be a pleasant person to be around. Opening his mouth in an attempt to warn Sabo of that he swayed and collapsed against someone, he couldn't even tell who at this point and the fog rolled in again.

A voice that he knew and trusted implacably cut through the fog. "Ace? Ace, are you with me? Come on bro, we gotta get you to Chopper."

That was Sabo. Where had Luffy gone?

"Copper's gonna patch him up quick." Luffy said remarkably serious. "And then we gotta get Ace to the canyon."

"What? He shouldn't be going anywhere until he's better." Sabo argued.

"He needs to Sabo. Bad things'll happen if we don't." Luffy said matter of factly

Sabo made a questioning noise and it was clear to Ace that Sabo didn't understand what their little brother was talking about in the slightest.

He could hear Luffy's eye roll as the youngest continued his very Luffy like explanation. "Ace is having bad emotions right now and if he doesn't deal with them he's gonna be impossible."

"If you say so. But how do you know that?" Sabo asked.

Ace could hear the frown in Luffy's voice as he clutched at Sabo's arms. He needed to hold onto the fact that Sabo was here because he knew what Luffy was going to say next.

"Because." He started haltingly. "The last time Ace looked like that" Luffy said, true to Ace's prediction, "you were dead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** This chapter in specific contains excessive violence, blood, friendly fire, and character death of OC's and main characters. Also contains fairly detailed fight sequences, broken necks, back stabbings, explosions, fire and swearing, courtesy of Ace. Again Ill repeat that they're at war guys. War and all of it's associated dangers are not pretty. If there end up being other things that people need me to tag, please let me know.
> 
> **AN:** Hey all! Im not dead and this story isn't either. I promise. I just got really caught up in some stuff. One of those things being the BB project for this year. Im super excited for it cause its gonna be awesome. And you know what else is Awesome? This story is almost done. I think ive got a single chapter left to edit and the epilogue to tidy up and then its done. So yeah, we're getting down to the end of things here. Thanks for sticking with me this long! I hope you're enjoying the ride! I'd also like to say Im sorry about the cliffhangers, but like Im kinda not? I love reading your reactions to them so please please let me know what you think of everything. Its always much appreciated.
> 
> Oh and for those curious, this chapter's title was brought to you by some random poker terminology that I know and the song May be a Price to Pay by the Alan Parsons Project from the album Turn of A Friendly Card.


	21. Aces High, Aces Low

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And thus we end as we began, with annoyance and laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And for the last time... or well the last time for this particular story your spoilery warnings can be found at the end of the chapter.
> 
> This story was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo. They are the only reason that this thing managed to be readable at all. Seriously, check my tumblr if you dont believe me. The entire thing in all of its unedited glory was posted there. The artwork that goes with the story is by Idaida on tumblr. Her art is magnificent and I shall never stop gushing about it. Yall can find the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! http://idaida.tumblr.com/post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds.

The sun was harsh as it shone down on the Borderlands. Splotches of a dusty green broke apart the monotony of the red and black ground as the various types of desert vegetation reclaimed their place in the sun after being ravaged by Flashflame and the sandstorms. A herd of Vlemhauss were taking advantage of the unprotected shoots of green, grazing daintily until his shadow passed them over. They scattered running for their burrows afraid of the brilliant blue wings that might just be a predator looking for lunch. They didn’t have to worry though, the blue wings flapped once, twice then angled slightly to take advantage of a thermal. Sharp golden eyes scanned the ground looking for a specific jagged gash in the desert terrain. It was a particular marker to a place simply known in the local parlance as The Canyon.

He had been flying for nearly an hour thus far but he’d seen no sign of it. He’d also seen no sign of the promised spectacular lightshow that Sabo had indicated would be present. Sabo had said that large amounts of flame and explosions would mark the spot where he’d find Ace.

Marco honestly hadn’t known what type of reception to expect when he walked into the S’andwich Bar in the middle of lunch hour. The shocked hush that fell across the room as he was recognized was not too surprising. The cut off whispers of _Didn’t he die?_ and _I saw him die_ were also reasonable reactions considering the circumstances. The punch Sabo had thrown at him had been, in his opinion, a little extreme. He was still smarting slightly from that. Sabo’s punches could be seriously damaging when he put his mind to it. Of course the fact that Sabo had thrown the punch in the first place and that he’d connected had caused the majority of the patrons to nearly trample each other in their rush to leave the bar. Marco didn’t know if they were leaving in fear of his reaction or of Sabo’s wrath.

“Not happy to see me eh?” was all he’d got out before Sabo had attempted another punch.

This one he dodged. That had been enough for Sabo to get ahold of himself and start throwing words around instead. From that point it had simply been easier to let Sabo rant and get the entire thing out of his system. Once he’d run down Marco had deemed it safe to talk.

Marco had quickly answered the questions, even the rhetorical ones, that Sabo had tossed out amidst the tirade and the insults. Then he had started in on his own questions, chief among them being just where he could find Ace.

That has set Sabo off again on a tirade this time about how he wasn’t sure he should even tell Marco because what had happened 4 days ago on the battlefield had seriously messed with Ace’s head to the point that he had lost himself to the fire.

That particular piece of news had stopped Marco dead in his tracks. The look of shock and horror on his face had apparently been enough to derail Sabo’s current bout of insults. Sabo had then taken a deep breath and explained. The short version was that Ace had apparently decided that the best way to get rid of the remaining Brass and members of Blackbeard’s crew was to engineer some sort of explosion that took nearly everything out of him. Sabo had then given him some directions and sent him off.

Marco thought he’d been heading in the right direction but there still was nothing that looked like the terrain Sabo had described. Suddenly flames shot into the sky from an area off to his right. It was a spot where the horizon appeared to cut off sharply and Marco wheeled towards it. Ha! This must be the Canyon then. The flames were a good sign. However drained Ace had been feeling at the end of the battle that much fire indicated that he was feeling much better now Marco surmised. The pillar of fire did not remain for long. Something, Marco thought it looked like a tangible nightmare, took form and started swallowing the light, suffocating the flames.

A worried shriek tore itself from Marco’s throat and he raced forward intent upon helping Ace. Before he arrived a small explosion shook the air and fire rushed outwards filling the Canyon chasing the darkness back towards one end. Marco could now see that the epicenter of the explosion contained a small tornado of fire. As he watched it slowly died away to reveal Ace, knife in hand who was glaring with what appeared to be an unfathomable amount of hatred at the direction he had chased the darkness. Alighting atop a boulder that had at some point probably been a part of the Canyon edge Marco drank in the sight of the man he loved battered but standing tall and proud against an unknown enemy.

Marco crooned, unable to help himself. A pair of hostile grey eyes flickered over to look at him.

“Phoenix,” Ace muttered. He glanced back down the canyon before snapping, “He’s mine. Mine to kill. You’re only allowed to interfere once I’m dead.”

Marco shook his head and blinked in confusion. Ace appeared to take the motion as an admission of agreement as he turned his full attention back to face the darkness. What the hell was Ace talking about?

Marco got his answer a moment later as the darkness started to solidify and spoke. “And, who exactly is going to kill me? You?”

The voice was nauseatingly familiar and as it approached the mass gained features that Marco wished he didn’t recognize. Pops had said that Teach had unfortunately managed to escape the final battle. But what was he doing here?

“Do the world a favor would you,” Ace snarled, “Eat shit and die!”

Teach laughed and the sound was sickening.

“Oh no. I don’t think so. I’ve come so far. I’ll take Agvitatmaa and capture Straw Hat Luffy. All that I need to do is finish you off. It won’t even be that hard, you can barely stand!”

Marco’s head snapped back to look at Ace, ignoring for the moment the fact that Teach hadn’t even noticed Marco’s presence.

Unfortunately the bastard was right. Ace wasn’t looking to good. Fresh blood was soaking into the already filthy bandages that he was wearing and bruises in a multitude of colors blossomed across his skin. What little of Ace’s tanned skin that was unmarked was rather pale and Ace was swaying slightly. He wouldn’t last much longer by anyone’s standards.

Ace didn’t appear to notice any of that, “And you think you’re going to kill me?” he growled and launched a flaming punch in Teach’s direction. “You’ve been failing at that since I was six.”

A bolt of fire flew straight towards Teach but before it came close to even singing him a dome of darkness came into existence, shielding the man. Ace’s flames splashed harmlessly off of it. As quickly as it appeared the shadow shield dissolved leaving Teach standing there once again.

“Ah but, none of those times were you ever this messed up, beat up, injured, and off your game. You’re doing worse you know. You were much better than this an hour ago.”

“Still better than you,” Ace snarled. “You’re not even using your ability to attack. Everything you’re doing is based on instinct. How long ago did you gain that ability? One day? Two?”

“Two,” Teach said with a shrug, “But I don’t need it to defeat you.”

The pair traded blows for a while, little dark dome appearing whenever Ace moved in close to strike with his knife. Not one to keep doing the same thing Ace switched tactics to fighting with fire with the knife as a secondary weapon. That seemed to work better Marco noted especially as Ace kept switching which hand was using which weapon. Marco knew that he should interfere with the battle sooner than later but this was Ace’s fight. Marco completely understood the idea of needing to take your own revenge.

As he watched a particularly spirited flame coated punch broke through one of the black bubbles and the tables seemed to turn in an instant. Pushing forward with a sudden burst of energy Ace roared as his knife finally landed a hit, slicing a deep gash in Teach’s shoulder. Unfortunately, as Ace was pulling back to adjust for the next strike it all went to shit. Blood loss and what appeared to be pure exhaustion caused Ace to stumble slightly. He quickly fired off another blast of fire to cover his slip but it didn’t work. Teach dodged. He was moving with a speed that was unusual for a man of his bulk and closed the gap. His hand shot out and Marco watched in horror as he caught Ace around the neck, lifted him clear off the ground and slammed him into the canyon wall.

“See?” Teach said mockingly as he held Ace pinned to the wall with one hand.

Ace didn’t answer though Marco wasn’t sure if it was because he couldn’t be bothered or simply was unable to. Instead Ace puffed out his cheeks and literally spat fire in Teach’s face. Apparently Teach hadn’t been expecting that, if the look of surprise on his face was any indication, but it didn’t matter as his instincts managed to take over and the fire was absorbed harmlessly by what appeared to be living darkness.

“To bad,” Teach said mockingly. “If only you hadn’t used up so much of your energy earlier. Mourning of all things. I wasn’t aware anyone did that so destructively. No matter. Frankly I’m more impressed that you went three days without sleep or proper food and you still managed to put up this much of a fight. That takes a serious amount of strength and I could use some more powerful folks on my side. So I’ll make you a deal. Join me and help me take down Whitebeard and Strawhat Luffy. In return I won’t kill you.”

Marco almost fell off his perch. Was Blackbeard serious? Was he actually trying to recruit Ace? There was no way that Ace would take it.

“Your actions took my mother and Marco from me,” Ace rasped. “Like hell I’d join and help you take down my brother. I’d rather die first.”

Teach’s face darkened as he frowned, “And I made such a generous offer. Ah well. What a waste. Now you die!”

Teach suddenly had a dagger that Marco hadn’t even seen him draw.  He was brining it down towards Ace’s bare chest.

Before Marco was even aware of what he was doing he was moving. Marco launched himself off of the rock at Teach, transforming into a streak of blue fire in mid-flight. He barely made it in time. He solidified with a perfectly executed side kick to Teach’s ribs taking the man entirely by surprise. Teach dropped both Ace and the dagger turning to meet the new threat.

The dagger clattered on the ground nosily but it was Ace who held the majority of Marco’s attention. He had fallen to the ground in a heap and hadn’t moved at all.

Marco focused his attention back on Teach. There was no time to check on Ace even though Marco desperately wanted to. Blackbeard had regained his poise and was ready for action. Another dagger made its appearance. Marco ducked the swings with a practiced ease. Teach’s growing anger and frustration were no help to him. His swings were wild and left him full of openings. Unfortunately his speed and physical skills still made actually landing an attack rather difficult.

“Why are you interfering?” Blackbeard suddenly yelled.

The sound echoed through the canyon. Marco raised an eyebrow as he lashed out with another kick only to have it deflected. Apparently Ace’s fire to the face had done something, namely impairing Teach’s sight.

“I’m hurt,” He said sarcastically. “You don’t recognize me?”

That shut Teach up for a moment. Marco could tell he was attempting to determine just who he was fighting. It took a couple more exchanges of blows before it finally clicked.

“Well well!” Teach laughed. “One surprise after another! Commander Marco! They told me Kizaru had killed you! You’re looking surprisingly well for a dead man.”

“Mmmmm.” Marco hummed absently as unleashed another series of kicks then replied, “you on the other hand are looking particularly singed.”

“I blame the brat behind you. He’s been a pain in my side from the day he was born.” Teach said pleasantly as if they were discussing the weather and not engaged in a duel that would only undoubtedly end when one of them died. “Any reason you won’t let me kill him? You know he is Spade? The person responsible for nearly all of your headaches for the past year or so?”

“I know. No you can’t kill him.” Marco said flatly.

“But why?”

“Because I love with him, that’s why.” Marco said.

The delivery was so matter of fact that it caused Teach to look at him in shock. It was clear that Teach had not been expecting that as an answer and that was all the opening that Marco needed. He brought his leg up aiming for Teach’s ribs once again. The other man’s arms came down a fraction later in an attempt to block or parry the blow but it didn’t matter. Marco had been waiting for the block and before Teach could even blink the target of the kick had changed snapping up towards his head instead. Marco’s kick connected with the side of Teach’s head with a solid thwack. The blow was harsh and sent him flying into the floor of the canyon where he landed with a somewhat sick squelch.

Marco watched warily waiting for a return attack. It didn’t come. Teach just lay on the ground unmoving.

Finally Marco cautiously approached the body. Was Teach playing dead? No, Marco found once he got closer that Teach had somehow landed on the dagger he had dropped earlier. Well that explained the sound he’d made when he’d hit.

Dropping down on one knee to check for a pulse, Marco was rather relieved to not find one. That was one thing he didn’t have to worry about any longer. Standing back up Marco turned to check on Ace.

Ace hadn’t moved from where he had landed when Teach had dropped him. Sighing, Marco moved over and plopped himself down next to the other man. It looked like Ace’s wounds were better than they had been earlier, though the amount of fresh blood was mildly worrying. At least the stain on the sand had stopped growing.

“Ace?” Marco questioned hoping to get some sort of reaction from his lover.

“Fuck off.” Ace growled. “I mean, I know you are a Phoenix and you belong to Whitebeard and I’m really thankful that you killed Blackbeard but can you please leave?”

“Why?” Marco asked honestly baffled.

“Because you could practically be a twin of the man I love but he’s dead and it’s not fucking fair all right? Cause you’re here, hes not and you can’t die while he did, and I can’t deal with that right now,” Ace said tipping his head back, propping it against the canyon wall as he stared up at the cloudless blue sky.

After a moment he closed his eyes.

“Sorry Ace,” Marco said for lack of something else to say.

Ace snorted while not bothering to open his eyes again, “What is there to be sorry for? You can’t help what you look like.”

“No, but I could have saved us all of this trouble if I had told you some of this shit earlier,” Marco remarked dryly and Ace’s eyes popped open.

“Marco?” Ace asked and the hope in his voice was unmistakable “I’m not hallucinating a doppelganger?”

“I’m not a hallucination Ace,” Marco said flatly. “ And I’m not a doppelganger either. I’m real. I’m here. Yeah I look a little different cause the Pheonix healing thing interacts strangely with massive damage but I’m still me, eh.” He paused then added for good measure, “Oh and just so you know, I love you.”

“You yelled that at Teach,” Ace said suddenly, “I thought I was imagining shit.”

“Nope. I love you. Have for a while. I really should have told you sooner,” Marco admitted.

That admission was apparently all Ace needed and the next thing Marco knew was that there was a warm body in his lap and he was being kissed rather passionately. They broke apart after a moment but neither moved far from each other.

Foreheads were pressed together and Ace said rather breathlessly, “You’re alive. I thought I’d lost you. You have got to stop doing that to me. Jerk!”

The last word was punctuated with a soft swat on his shoulder and Marco couldn’t help the wry smirk that appeared on his face. Ace returned the grin with one of his own.

“I love you too. Seriously though, immortal or not, you have got to stop scaring me like that.”

“I’ll try. Apparently I’m not as immortal as I thought. I’ve recently discovered that Seastone wounds take forever to heal,” Marco said while combing his fingers through Ace’s hair.

They sat like that for a moment more before a loud grumble echoed in the canyon.

“I take it that was your stomach?” Marco asked and Ace flushed, embarrassed.

“It might have been,” Ace admitted sheepishly just after the noise sounded again.

Marco laughed and stood, pulling Ace up with him, “Well come on then. Your brothers will be relieved to see you. You’ve been out here what, Three? Four days?”

Ace shrugged. “I actually don’t know and I honestly couldn’t tell you. Where are we going?”

Marco smiled. “Where do you think? I mean, there’s only one place around here that I can get you a sandwich.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** This chapter in specific contains excessive violence, blood and character death. It also contains fairly detailed fight sequences, broken necks, stabbings, explosions, fire and swearing, courtesy of Ace. If there end up being other things that people need me to tag or warn for, please let me know
> 
> **AN:** CONGRATULATIONS FRIENDS! You made it to the end of this novel. No seriously, I'm not joking. By the word count, this is basically a novel and I managed to write it in 6 months and then took just under a year to finish my edits.
> 
> Thank you guys for everything. Seriously, thank you so much. I love that you kept leaving me comments and I love that you narrated your reactions to my cliffhangers. Its super nice and super appreciated. Again thank you so much to my wonderful wonderful beta Ktwontwo. Theyre awesome and they are the reason that anything I write is actually coherent. I think the only thing of mine that they havent touched is probably the Swords and Sorcery verse but that is irrelevant. Thank you to the readers who stuck with me the entire way. You guys are awesome and your support and minor corrections meant a lot especially at the beginning. Thank you to my new readers who just found the fic and are still reading it. I love hearing what you think because you make me contemplate things I really should have thought through before I wrote them down. Thank you to those of you who found my story halfway through and left me a comment on every chapter and have continued to leave comments. It was just so nice to read all of those at once and they really made my day. Thanks to all of you who are lurking and left me kudos. They make me smile and sad because I cant actually talk to you about the things you liked and I really want to know what you think. 
> 
> Speaking of, I think this is the last time that I can ask you to let me know what you thought of the story. I really would appreciate your final thoughts on this. If you notice any plot holes that I failed to fill, please let me know. It might lead to me adding stuff in story, adding a bonus chapter as I write what happened there or maybe even a sequel though I make no promises on any of them. Oh and if anyone one wants that dictionary/glossary of terms I promised please let me know and I'll go back through and add them. Thank you all for everything and I'll see you all next time because I entered this years big bang as well. :D


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